Nothing Gold Can Stay
by EmW05
Summary: Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott have everything they could have ever wanted. But will the ups and downs of college life, parenting, and a trip down memory lane come between the two? Sequel To Comfortable
1. Prolouge Nothing Gold Can Stay

**Nothing Gold Can Stay  
By Robert Frost**  
_Nature's first green is gold   
her hardest hue to hold.  
Her early leaf's a flower;  
__But only so an hour.  
Then leaf subsides to leaf.  
So Eden sank to grief,  
So dawn goes down to day.  
Nothing gold can stay.  
_  
_**There are thousand of people who give into the cliche, "You don't know what you've got till its gone". Brooke Davis and Lucas Scott know what they have, a wonderful relationship, a beautiful daughter, and ever opportunity in the world within their reach. Will the ups and downs of college life, the stress of parenting, and a trip down memory lane come between the two? Everyone knows pleasure is the hardest emotion to obtain, but why does sorrow seems to be the simplest?**_


	2. Lackluster Night With Unwed Mothers

Chapter One   
Lackluster Night with Unwed Mothers  
  
"Which one is he again?" Eliza Thomas asked her roommate, Brooke Davis, as she pointed to the television screen. Lilia, Brooke's daughter, was resting in between the pair on the leather couch in their dorm room. Because of how well off the two were, the university gave them one of the premium dorms. Whether or not it was in the upperclassmen building didn't matter to them. They were just happy to have their own bathroom.  
  
Brooke squinted at the TV and said, "Doesn't look like he is playing right now, but he's number ten." Her eight month old daughter crawled onto her fleece blanket covered lap. "Here baby doll." She said, picking the baby up off of the couch and sitting her between her legs. The mother ran her hands over her daughter's chocolate colored hair.  
  
Eliza stood up and walked into the kitchenette. Her intention to make a pot of coffee was interrupted by a crying coming from the adjacent room. "I just put him down." She moaned as she walked into the room where her son was sleeping. "Hey buddy." She said, picking her eighteen month old son out of his crib and carrying him on her hip into the room where Brooke and Lilia were.  
  
She walked over to the rocking chair that sat in the corner of the living room and took a seat. Rocking back and forth she said, "I find it somewhat upsetting when you have to put a rocking chair where most normal college students would put a keg."  
  
"Yeah, I guess." Brooke whispered as she looked down at the baby in her arms. "She's asleep," She said pointing to Lilia, "I am going to put her up." She slowly stood and carried the child into the room where Brooke slept. After laying Lilia down, she stood in front of her dresser drawer. Running her fingers over the frames that contained pictures of her parents, Lucas, and her friends their last night in Tree Hill. She felt something tug at her heart and quickly left the room.  
  
The duo sat in the room, alone for the first time in weeks. They looked at each other and then back at the television clueless as what to do next. Brooke chewed on her bottom lip until she felt blood on her tongue. Eliza bit her right thumb nail until it was down to the quick, and then switched to the other thumb.  
  
"Isn't weird that we wait all day long for them to finally go to sleep and then when they do we just sit here, staring at each other and twittling our damn thumbs?" Brooke asked as she folded and unfolded her arms across her chest.  
  
Eliza let out a chuckle, looked around the dorm and then said, "We could play Monopoly or something?" She shrugged her narrow shoulders and walked over to the refrigerator.  
  
Brooke's eyebrows rose. "You have got to be kidding me. We are two teen mothers who haven't had a night alone in God knows and all we can thing to do is play Monopoly." She leaned back on the couch and groaned, "We are pathetic."  
  
"It's not like we could do anything even if we wanted to." Eliza said, taking a long drink straight from a gallon of low fat milk. She pointed toward the bedrooms, "They are asleep. We can't just leave them." Reaching into the cookie jar, she pulled out a broken piece of cookie and threw it into her mouth.  
  
"Know any babysitters?" Brooke asked. She watched Eliza walk from the kitchen and sit next to her on the couch. Eliza shrugged her shoulders. "The only downfall of being out of Tree Hill, is if we were there I could call Nathan and Haley and they would watch the kids."  
  
"Yeah and if I was on speaking terms with Reed's father then I would call him, but oh yeah... I'm not." Eliza said sarcastically as she leaned closed to the television. "Hey!" She cried out, "There's Lucas."  
  
Brooke adjusted in her seat, now sitting on her legs. "Lilia is going to be so upset when I tell her she missed seeing her daddy." She ran her long, manicured fingers through her dark brown hair. "Aw. He looks so cute." She lowered her head into her hands as if she was a prepubescent teenage girl watching her celebrity crush on TV.

Falling in love in high school had definitely taken its toll on the couple's relationship. It all started when Lucas cheated on Brooke with Peyton Sawyer, for the first time. Then she took him back. At the time she was kicking herself for letting him back into her life, but right now she was glad she did. Then she found out she was pregnant, but didn't tell anyone. Not even Lucas. A couple months later, Brooke found out Lucas had cheated on her again, with none other that Peyton Sawyer...again. That was the end of their relationship for a while. That was until Brooke came to her senses and let Lucas back into her life because her life now included a child. Their child. Now here they are, at college together. Mommy, daddy, and baby makes three.  
  
"First of all," Eliza began to say, "Lilia is not going to know what you are talking about when you tell her he was on TV. Second of all," She held up two fingers and continued speaking, "If you ever tell a guy he looked _cute_ while he was playing basketball he would probably hit you in the head with a ball."  
  
She rolled her eyes and said, "Fine then, he looks _handsome_."  
  
"Like that is **so** much better." Eliza said rolling her eyes and played with her messy, blonde mop of hair atop her head. Known as, "The Beauty Queen" at her high school in small town, Livingston, South Carolina, Eliza Thomas was the picture of perfection. Doing pageants throughout half of her life or at least until she got pregnant the beginning of her junior year in High School.  
  
Her boyfriend at the time, also the father of her son, was two years older than she and was getting ready to go off to college. When he found out she was pregnant, he left town even faster. She had tried repeatedly to get a hold of him. Not for money, but for the sake of their son. So that he could have a father and a somewhat normal childhood.  
  
"Want me to call Dana?" Brooke asked referring to a girl in their Psychology class who always comments on how much she loved kids. "She might watch them while we go out for a little while." Her eyes gave a slight look of hope mixed with a little desperation.  
  
Brooke was still as stunning, if not more, as ever. Her hair had grown out and now hit her back several inches below her shoulder blades. Since having Lilia she had become a workout-aholic saying, "Just because I am a mother doesn't mean I have to look like one." Her hair was shinier, her teeth whiter, and her skin clearer. Giving birth had done no harm to Brooke Davis, but then again who thought it would?  
  
"Might as well." A mellow Eliza said, now lying on a rug which covered most of the old hardwood floor. "Wait is that the weird one...with the tooth?" She asked, running her tongue across her front teeth.  
  
Brooke narrowed her eyes and looked down at her, "What tooth?" She stepped over her and walked into the bathroom.  
  
Eliza followed after her. "Ya know the tooth." She pointed to one of her front teeth, "That one tooth is, like, a different color or something. Like it is a cap or something."  
  
"So what if it is?" Brooke said, spitting toothpaste into the porcelain sink. She turned on the water and rinsed the sink out.  
  
Shrugging her shoulders, Eliza said, "I dunno. It's just weird."  
  
"No," Brooke walked out of the bathroom and turned down her bed next to Lilia's crib. She was now whispering. "You are weird. No one in all of Wake Forest would pay any attention to some poor girls veneer on her front teeth. Maybe she looks at you and calls you the strange one with the kid." She raised her eyebrows, undressed, put on one of Lucas' old tee shirt and accompanied it with a pair of navy boxer shorts.  
  
"No, its just one tooth." Holding up one finger, Eliza continued, "I just bothers me. Why couldn't the dentist have made it, ya know, the same color as the other teeth."  
  
Brooke leaned over and turned off the light next to her bed. The room went black. "Goodnight Eliza. Go to sleep."  
  
"Another lackluster night in the residence of the unwed mothers." Eliza said, leaving the room and closing the door behind her.


	3. Break Doesn't Always Mean Stress Free

Chapter Two

"Break" Doesn't Always Mean Stress Free  
  
Christmas break couldn't have come any sooner for the students at Wake Forest. After weeks of pressure from her boyfriend, Lucas Scott, Brooke Davis gave into him. She was going to go back to Tree Hill, the place she loathed for 17 years. Part of the reason she decided to go back was because she had no where else to go, this was also the reason Eliza Thomas tagged along.  
  
Eliza's parents, two of the most prestigious prosecutors in all of South Carolina, somewhat disowned her after the birth of their grandchild. Lets just say had Eliza gone back to Livingston, World War III would have erupted.  
  
The three all drove separately for the short trip to Tree Hill. Lucas led the pack in his new Toyota Four Runner which he bought himself as a graduation present. Brooke followed him in her 2003 BMW Beemer. Lilia rode in her car seat, patiently throughout the two hour drive. Third in the caravan of cars was Eliza driving her brand new Lexus GX470 SUV.  
  
Money, to Eliza's parents, made up for everything. When they missed her first day of elementary school, they took her to Disney World. They missed her Miss Teen USA Pageant when she represented the state of South Carolina. In return they bought her the Louis Vuitton luggage she had so desperately longed for all season. And when they refused to witness the birth of their grandson, they bought her a new car. A forty five thousand dollar Lexus SUV to be exact.  
  
Eliza ran her fingers through her blonde hair and turned to the back seat. Reed was asleep in his car seat, pacifier in mouth, blanket in hand. His curly auburn hair was almost as messy as her own and his porcelain skin made him look like something out of a FAO Schwartz catalog.  
  
She stepped a little harder on the accelerator to catch up to Brooke, who at the time seemed to be paying attention to everything except the road. Applying the perfect color and amount of lip gloss, while talking to Lucas on her cell phone, and checking up on Lilia every other second. Brooke nervously ran her free hand over her hair, down her neck, and began playing with her necklace Lucas had given her on Lilia's six month birthday. It was a silver pendant with _LDS_, Lilia Davis Scott, engraved. Brooke decided she "had to have one" when she found out _every_ single famous mother was wearing them. She never expected it to mean anymore to her than any other piece of jewelry. It was. It meant that she _was_ a mother.  
  
As Lucas drove, he watched an anxious Brooke out of his mirrors. "Just calm down," He said into his cell phone to her as he switched lanes, "It's not like you have never been there." He adjusted his baseball cap on his head and then readjusted it three seconds later.  
  
Brooke sighed into the phone and said, "I know, but still... Lucas you don't get it. I waited my whole life to get the hell out of there. What the hell am I doing going back?" She heard Lilia begin to cry from the back seat. "Hang on baby doll."  
  
"Okay." Lucas said as he changed the radio station. Finally landing on a semi-decent station. Britney Spears came on. Digusted, he changed the station. Oh, Elton John Crocodile Rock, so much better.  
  
"No," Brooke said, "Not you. Lilia."  
  
"Oh," He said, feeling his face begin to blush.  
  
"Don't be embarrassed." She knew him so well.  
  
He laughed and smirked at her. How did she know everything he was thinking? He wondered to himself if she knew what he was thinking about right now. Probably, he said to himself.  
  
"What did you say? Did you say something to me?" Brooke asked, rambling.  
  
"No... nothing." He reached into his pocket and threw a piece of gum into his mouth. Again, it was like Brooke knew what he was thinking.  
  
"I think I have to pee." She bit her lip and ran her tongue across her teeth. She looked back at Lilia, who had fallen asleep. "I need some gum too."  
  
Lucas looked down at his hand and saw the gum wrapper. "I just put my last piece in my mouth."  
  
"I know," She said watching Lucas pull off at the exit. "That's what made me think of it. Well that and the fact that I have the grossest taste in my mouth. Damn garlic."  
  
He pulled his car into a parking place at the Shell Station and watched Brooke do the same. Several seconds later, Eliza pulled in. She looked frazzled and somewhat confused. "I almost passed this place," She said, reaching into the back seat of her SUV and pulling out Reed. "Glad we stopped though. I need a soda or something and I have **got** to go to the bathroom."  
  
"Me too," Brooke said, adjusting Lilia on her hip and walking toward the gas station with Eliza. She turned around to look at Lucas. He followed close behind the pair. She winked at him and he thought to himself, _"How did I get so lucky?"_  
  
Once Brooke, Eliza, and the kids got out of the bathroom they stocked up on the necessary goods. Brooke grabbed three bags of Gummy Worms and a Mellow Yellow. When she reached for the drink Lucas said, "Like you really need that much more caffeine in your system. You are jittery enough about going home." She squinted her eyes at him and questioned giving him the finger, but did not. For the children's sake of course. Eliza decided on a Snickers, Reese's Cups, Pay Day, Almond Joy and a bottle of Diet Caffeine Free Coke. When Brooke saw this, she couldn't help herself, "That Diet Coke definitely does not make up for four candy bars, but good try."  
  
"I'm sorry Miss Fitness Guru." She said, throwing the candy bars and soda onto the checkout table. Pointing to Brooke's bags of gummy candy, she said "Low fat I presume?"  
  
Brooke nodded, opening one bag offering her a single worm. Eliza shook her head and held up the candy bars, wiggling her eyebrows. Brooke choked on the gummy worm, laughing. Eliza began hysterically laughing.  
  
Lucas took them both by the arms and led them out of the convenient store. "I can't take you two anywhere."  
  
Their laughing ceased and Brooke hit him on the arm, Eliza did the same. In unison, they said, "Can so." Then they looked at each other and the laughing started up again.  
  
Lucas rolled his eyes, jokingly and said to Brooke, "Want me to take her for a little while?" He pointed to Lilia who was in his arms.  
  
She nodded and said, "Love you. See you at home." She cringed at the last words. Lucas could see how nervous she was. Her hands were shaking so that she could hardly grip the steering wheel.  
  
Before she closed the door Lucas said to her, "Don't worry, B. It'll be just like old times." He winked at her and began to put Lilia in the seat that was in his car.  
  
Trying to give him a smile, she thought to herself, _Yeah just like old times and I am so excited because the old times were so much fun._ _You cheated on me and I ended up pregnant_. She watched her trembling hands start her car. As she pulled out of the parking lot after Lucas she said, "Let's just hope none of that happens again." She put her sunglasses on her face and pulled onto the highway, trying to catch up.


	4. Some People Say There Is No Place Like H...

Chapter 3

Some People Say There's No Place Like Home  
  
_Welcome To Tree Hill. Where everybody is somebody._ Brooke read the sign as she entered the city where she grew up. The city where her life changed forever and here she was, back there and desperately wishing she was somewhere else, anywhere else. She winced at the too familiar surroundings. Old wounds that Brooke had been trying to close suddenly opened.  
  
On the way to Lucas' mom's café, she passed her old house. She had lived in that house her whole life. The grass was a little less green and the new owners had replaced our old green shutters with new, white ones. She bit her lip remembering, everything. That was the last place she saw her parents. _Open wound number one_.  
  
There it was. The café. She watched Lucas climb out of the 4Runner and pull Lilia out of the backseat. He was beaming, so excited to finally see everyone. Brooke wished that she could feel the same way as Lucas. It wasn't that she hated Tree Hill it was just... well, she hated Tree Hill.  
  
Lucas held Lilia above his head and said, "Here were are Lil. Home sweet home." He held her close to his chest and held his hand out to Brooke. She slowly crawled out of the driver's seat and looked around like a nervous animal leaving its mother for the first time. Her hand reached his and he pulled her arm, saying, "B, come on."  
  
His hand on her back leading her into the café made her feel all the more comfortable. She turned around to make sure Eliza was following them. She was, but she was several steps behind talking on her cell phone to someone unknown. Eliza shifted Reed on her hip and switched ears on her cell phone. "I said Tree Hill not Glee Pill..." Brooke looked at her with puzzled eyes and Eliza shrugged her shoulders. She remained outside while Lucas and Brooke entered the café.  
  
The two sat down at their regular table. Lucas, over the table, handed Lilia to Brooke. She handed her a pacifier and Lilia began sucking away. Eventually falling asleep. Lucas saw his mother from behind the counter. He waved to her and she came over.  
  
Hugging her son she said, "Lucas you look great!" Karen sat down next to him in the booth and kissed him on the cheek. She looked over at me and said, "Brooke, you look amazing. Can't even tell you had a baby less than a year ago."  
  
Brooke gave her a half smile. "Thanks. I have been working out."  
  
"Hopefully not too much." She said reaching over the table to hold Lilia. "Don't want to leave the baby away from her parents for too long." Karen ran her hand over the baby's head and kissed her head. She looked up at me and smiled.  
  
_There is no winning._ Brooke thought to herself. "No. Lilia and I spend almost all day together while Luke is in class or basketball..."  
  
"And then I watch her while Brooke is in class and then at night we have dinner together..." Lucas said winking at me.  
  
"Unless he has a basketball game, then Lil doesn't get to see him at night but then the next morning he comes over right when he wakes up so he can see her." Brooke smiled back at Lucas and then looked at Karen, who appeared to not even be listening.  
  
"Well," She said handing the baby over to Lucas, "Sound like you two have gotten into a good routine. The makings of a perfect marriage."  
  
The couple immediately looked at each other. Chills went down Brooke's spine. She shivered. Lucas' eyes opened the widest they had ever in his life. Shit, Lucas thought to himself. He knew how scared Brooke got when she realized she might be tied down. He watched her carefully, reading her every move.  
  
She chewed on her bottom lip as she always did when she was panicky. Next she moved her hair from side to side, another sign of Brooke Davis nervousness. He kicked her under the table. She flinched and narrowed her eyes at him.  
  
Karen noticed the tension between the two, "Well I better get back to work. Do you both want your regulars?"  
  
The both nodded and Brooke said, "Could you bring a little milk?" She pointed to Lilia, "I have a bottle, but I am out of milk."  
  
"Yeah, I'll be right back." Karen said as she walked away.  
  
Lucas reached for Brooke across the table. She pulled away from him. "What is with you?" He asked, leaning back in the booth. He put his hat on backwards and awaited her answer.  
  
"Nothing." She paused and took a sip of the water that was sitting on the table. Looking up at him she said, "Marriage? What is she talking about?"  
  
"She is just talking Brooke. It doesn't mean anything." Lilia began to stir in his arms. He rocked her back and forth until she calmed down.  
  
"Good." She said, pushing away the glass of water.  
  
Karen came back to the table with the drinks. Milk for Lilia, Vanilla Coke for Lucas, and a Diet Dr. Pepper. She sat them down and then left.  
  
"What is that supposed to mean?" He asked, leaning forward raising Lilia over the table to make sure not to smash her.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Brooke chewed on her straw and took the baby from Lucas. She woke up, "Hey sweetie." She said running her hand over Lilia's dark brown hair. Her ice blue eyes looked up at her mother. Brooke fell in love with her all over again. She held the baby up to look at Lucas, "Look at those eyes." She winked at him and continued, "We know where she got those."  
  
He shook his head. He couldn't stay aggravated at her. "Where is Eliza?" Lucas asked looking around the café and then pulling the window blinds over to one side and looking out.  
  
Brooke did the same and finally saw her standing next to her car still talking on her cell phone. "Go out there and get Reed from her. He is going to freeze."  
  
Lucas stood up to go outside and kissed Brooke and Lilia on the head. "Be right back." Brooke nodded and watched him go outside.  
  
Karen came back and brought the food. "So, how is everything?" She asked, as she sat across from Brooke. "How are you doing?"  
  
Confused, Brooke was hesitant to answer. What was she talking about? As far as Brooke knew, she was fine. She narrowed her eyes at Karen and cocked her head to one side, "I'm good." She paused and took a sip of her drink, "Thanks."  
  
"Just making sure. I knew how eager you were to get out of here but I didn't know how you were doing with the whole "family" thing."  
  
Family thing? Brooke asked herself. Was she trying to make me feel miniscule or was it just happening. She threw a French fry into her mouth like nothing was wrong, "Nope. We're doing just great."  
  
Not a minute too soon, Lucas came back with Reed. "Mom, this is Reed Thomas. He is Brooke's roommate's son."  
  
Brooke anxiously awaited a reply from Karen. She prayed that she would not say something that would sound stupid. She was just glad the fragile Eliza wasn't in the room.  
  
"What a cutie." She said running her hand down Reed's back.  
  
Wow, Brooke thought to herself, No stupid comment.  
  
"You all get along well don't you Brooke."  
  
I spoke too soon, Brooke thought. "Yeah, well we have a lot in common." She said, playing Karen's game.  
  
Karen wasn't trying to be rude to Brooke; it just came out the wrong way. She didn't really have much to say to her. They didn't have anything in common other than Lucas. But because of that, Karen knew she had to chat with Brooke. She felt bad for the way things out of her mouth were sounding because she could tell Brooke was a little taken aback by the comments.  
  
The door rang and the three turned toward the noise. Eliza walked into the café and came over to their table. "So what have I missed?" She asked taking a seat next to Lucas. She watched Brooke shake her head. "Oh." Eliza looked up to see a woman standing in front of her. She put her hand out and shook the woman hand. "Eliza Thomas. I go to school with Lucas and Brooke."  
  
"Karen Roe. I'm Lucas' mother." She nodded her head at Lilia, who was in Brooke's arms. "And Lilia's grandma."  
  
Again, the bell on the door rang and the group turned around. A tall brunette guy walked in followed by brunette girl with a pea coat on. She pushed her hair over her shoulder. "Haley!" Brooke cried out, jumping out of the booth baby in tow.  
  
Lucas followed after Brooke and shook the tall guy's hand, "Hey Nate." He gave the girl a hug and said, "Hales, you look great."  
  
She curtsied at him and said, "Why thank you. You don't look to shabby yourself Luke."  
  
Eliza carried Reed over to the group. Brooke did the introducing. "Everyone, this is Eliza Thomas, my roommate, and this is her son, Reed." She pointed to each person as she introduced her to the two new members to the group, "This is Nathan Scott, Lucas' half brother." Nathan was the tall brunette. He had on an Abercrombie sweatshirt and stonewashed blue jeans. He was a good looking guy, but that was the last thing Eliza needed. "Haley James, Nathan's wife." Haley was a pretty girl, long brown hair and a cute figure. She was shorter that Brooke and Eliza.  
  
They moved to a larger table and talked about everything. College, dating, kids, finals. You name it they talked about it. That was until she walked in the door. Brooke hadn't talked to her in months. "I didn't think she was coming." Haley whispered to Nathan. Brooke's second wound opened when she saw Peyton Sawyer walk back into her life.


	5. Snow and Fireplaces, Not Always So Roman...

Chapter 4

Snow and fireplaces, not always so romantic.  
  
The snow had been falling pretty profusely for the past couple hours but Brooke and Lucas were too caught up in their argument to even notice the extreme change in weather. In the two hours since the fighting began, over nine inches of snow had fallen from the gray North Carolina sky. Brooke paced back and forth through the living room of Karen Roe while Lucas tentatively remained on the edge of the couch.  
  
Walking around the room Brooke shook her head, pushed her hands deep into the pockets of her army green cargo pants and said, "You better be damn glad that Lilia is not here to see this." She pulled her right hand out of her pocket and scratched her shoulder.  
  
"Why?" Lucas asked leaning so far forward in his seat he was practically squatting, "If she was here she could see how insane her mother is." He watched her mouth drop and then quickly closed. She walked toward the room where she and Lilia were staying in.  
  
Lucas followed after her and tried to get in the room. Brooke pushed as hard as she could to close the door; she failed and Lucas entered. "Please just leave me alone." She said, climbing onto the bed and covering her head with a pillow.  
  
He pulled the pillow away from her. The scowl on her face made Lucas even more angry with her. "Damnit Brooke," He said. He was angry. He never cursed at Brooke. This was different; he had just about had enough of her not trusting him. "I already said I didn't know she was coming in town."  
  
She rolled her eyes and hit on across the face with a pillow. "That is such a lie and you know it. All those nights when your phone was busy... you were talking to her. I knew you were." She said jumping off the bed and back into the living room.  
  
Following close behind her, pillow in hand, Lucas said, "Do you hear yourself? You have lost it." He threw the pillow at her.  
  
She caught it and threw it to the ground. "Don't even try to make this about me now! This is about you and you're lying to me... again. Doesn't that ever get old to you? Lying I mean."  
  
"Now we are back to this." He moaned throwing his arms in the air and slowly sitting down on in his favorite seat on the couch. He rested his hands on his knees and slowly shoot his head. His hat fell to the floor.  
  
"Didn't you expect it to?" Brooke asked, now sitting across from him. "It always does, but if you hadn't screwed up we wouldn't have anything to go back to now would we?"  
  
She was so conniving. Throughout all of high school, no one messed with Brooke Davis. Everyone knew she could dish it, but no one knew whether or not she could take it. That was until Peyton found out that... yes, she can do both. She was hoping to ruin Peyton's life until she finally came to her senses thanks to Lucas.  
  
He had always been there for her when she needed him, except the day that she needed him more than ever. The day their daughter was born. But that was his fault, and he would admit it, now. The biggest mistake he ever made was bringing Peyton to the hospital when Brooke was having Lilia. He thought about it almost every night. Some nights he would think about how stupid he was to hurt Brooke. Lately he had stopped thinking about it, but that was until he saw Peyton again.  
  
Everything came back to him when he saw her. All the nights they spent together, the way her curly tendrils fell on his face when she laid on top of him, the way her cold hands felt on his bare skin. Anything that had ever been between them was purely physical. There is no way that Lucas could or would ever feel the same things for Peyton that he felt for Brooke. If he had to pick between the two it would come down to this: Brooke would be the one he would be happy with and spend the rest of his life with, having children, pets and a white picket fence. Peyton would be the one who would keep him crazy and young. They would have the best sexual relationship anyone could ever experience. Unlike the average college guy, he preferred the pets and picket over the feral sex.  
  
"Fine," He finally gave in, "I didn't tell you because you already didn't want to come home..."  
  
Brooke, aggravated, quickly butted in, "This is not my home!" She stood up and threw her hands to her sides.  
  
Lucas did the same and said, "Well, Brooke, where is your home then?"  
  
She slumped back into her chair and felt the tears fill her eyes. Looking up at Lucas, she said, "With..."  
  
Brooke's thought was interrupted by an opening door. In walked the last person either of them wanted to see. "Damn it is a bitch out there." She dropped her scarf when she saw the two; Brooke crawled in a ball in a chair near tears and Lucas, red faced and downtrodden. "Hope I am not interrupting."  
  
"On no. We were actually just talking about you." Brooke said as she stood up from her seat and walked toward Peyton.  
  
Peyton opened her mouth to speak but all she could get out before she was interrupted by Brooke was, "Brooke, I'm sor..."  
  
"You can say you are sorry if it is going to make you feel better but it doesn't do a damn thing for me." She walked into the kitchen pored herself a glass of water. After taking a long drink, she looked up at Lucas and then back at Peyton who were now also in the kitchen.  
  
"Come on Brooke," Lucas said trying to put his hand on her back. She pushed it off. "Just give her a chance."  
  
Brooke threw the plastic cup into the sink and quickly turned around. "Why are you always defending her Lucas? Why didn't you get her knocked up?"  
  
"Brooke..." Peyton tried to say.  
  
"Peyton, no." Its not an issue of sides Brooke and the pregnancy statement was out of line." He pointed his finger at her. She hated that it made her feel like a child and that is exactly why he did it, because she was acting like a child. "OUT OF LINE!"  
  
Peyton looked up from the floor and said, "I didn't come over here to screw things up, really. I just..."  
  
She was interrupted by a severe weather alert on the television. Across the bottom of the screen, a warning read: NewsFlash: All residents are to stay put. The governor of North Carolina has issued a Severe Weather Warning for Tree Hill and all surrounding areas. The newscaster came on and said, "People stay in your house and build a fire... it's gonna be a long night."  
  
Lucas' mouth seemed to drop to the floor. He closed his eyes tightly and then slowly opened them, hoping that this was all a dream, a nightmare. When his eyes opened, they were both still there. Peyton and Brooke stood on either side of him, hands on hips. _This is going to be a long, long night._


	6. Not Your Average Game of Spin The Bottle

Chapter Five

Not Your Average Spin The Bottle

Nathan's apartment was full. He, Haley, and Eliza all sat in front of the television watching the news anxiously waiting for the snowfall to cease. Haley stood up, "I can't watch this anymore," She pushed Lilia back and forth in the stroller.  
  
Eliza stood up, laid a sleeping Reed into his stroller, and looked at her watch. "Damn," She said pushing the stroller into Nathan and Haley's guest bedroom. Looking back at them, she asked, "Okay if I leave him in here to sleep?"  
  
Haley nodded and pushed Lilia into the same room. The way she looked at Lilia made Nathan realize how wonderful of a mother she would be, someday. Their children would have the best qualities of both, Nathan's athleticism and outgoing nature and Haley's intelligence and personable personality. The best of both worlds.  
  
The girls came back into the living room. They sat down on the couch cattycornered from the chair that Nathan was seated in. Eliza had attention deficit disorder to the fullest extent and after two minutes of sitting she was already bored.  
  
She stood up and walked into the kitchen. After rummaging through the trash for a minute she emerged from the kitchen into the living room, empty two liter bottle in hand. She held it up to them and said, "I take it ya'll aren't big drinkers?" Her think southern accent was very present now.  
  
Haley looked at her husband and then back at Eliza, "He is. I'm not."  
  
"I'm not playing a stupid game of "Spin the Bottle", Eliza." Nathan said, watching her sit down at their kitchen table.  
  
"Nathan, how juvenile." She spun the bottle on the top of the table and looked up at the couple. "We are gonna play a good ol' game called, 'Have you ever'."  
  
Nathan jumped over the back of the couch and excitedly rushed into the kitchen to retrieve the shot glasses. He pulled three from the top cabinet and squatted down, searching for the tequila. Once he found it, he showed it to Eliza. She nodded in approval. He took a seat next to her at the table.  
  
An apprehensive Haley got off the couch and came to the table. She slowly sat down and said, "I don't know how to play."  
  
"Well, jeez, Haley don't sound to over excited." Eliza said, running her fingers through her messy hair. "Okay, you spin the bottle and who ever it lands on gets asked a 'have you ever' question. If their answer is no, then they have to take a shot."  
  
Haley nodded, listening very carefully. She looked at the bottle of alcohol and said, "I hate tequila."  
  
"You hate all liquor." Nathan said, knowingly.  
  
"No, I don't, I like those wine coolers." Haley said hitting him on the leg.  
  
"No one really likes tequila Haley." Eliza replied, "People who drink it straight just do it so that they can go ahead and get drunk before everyone else." She looked at Nathan who was nodding in agreement. "'Cause once you have a couple shots, you are three sheets to the wind."  
  
"Okay," Nathan said looking at Haley, "Beginners first."  
  
Haley nervously took the bottle and gave it a spin. She watched it slow down and finally land on Eliza. "Have you ever cheated on a boyfriend?"  
  
Eliza pulled her legs up into her chair and said, "Yeah. During the summer that I was dating Reed's father I cheated on him with his older brother. We used protection and everything, so I knew that he wasn't Reed's father." She looked down at the carpeted floor, "Plus the timing was all wrong."  
  
She looked up and took the bottle, "Okay my turn." She spun the bottle and watched it point in Nathan's direction. Laughing, she asked him, "Have you ever rented porn?"  
  
Haley quickly whipped her head from looking at Eliza to Nathan.  
  
Nathan laughed and said, "Funny story actually." Haley's mouth dropped open. "I rented it and took it to Lucas' to watch because my VCR was broken and I accidentally left the tape over there and his mom found it. She thought it was Lucas'. I still haven't told her the truth."  
  
She couldn't believe that he would do something like that. Well, she could but she couldn't believe that he did do something like that. Well, yeah she could. After she thought about it for a moment, the shock went away.  
  
He put his hand on the bottle and watched it spin. "Eliza, have you ever been so jealous of someone that you almost hated them?"  
  
Eliza began chewing on her thumbnail as she always did when she was nervous. She voluntarily took a shot, knowing that it would help her confess. She filled the shot glass with tequila and said, "Every time I see Brooke and Lucas together with Lilia I get ridiculously jealous because the thing I want the most for Reed is for him to have a dad." She pushed the glass back and forth, "And I know with the situation that I am in with his father..." She looked up at them, "I don't even know where he is." She felt tears swell in her eyes, "I just want so badly for Reed to have a father because I know what it is like not to have parents who are there for you." She took a deep breath and took hold of the bottle, spinning it like there was no tomorrow.  
  
Haley nervously looked at Eliza, who decided to give Haley a question which would be a definite no. "Have you ever bungee jumped?"  
  
She shook her head and took a shot. "Let the fun begin." Haley said.  
  
After an hour or so of fun and games and Haley trying to count how many shots everyone had taken, they game was over. She lost count after her eighth. By that time, Nathan had taken close to six and Eliza had taken around five, not including the several she took just for the hell of it. Haley's eyes were droopy. She looked more tired and worn down than the other two.  
  
Nathan took her by the arm and led her into their bedroom, "Come on Hales, you need to go to sleep." He laid her in the bed and before he could even close the door she was snoring.  
  
"She'll be out cold for a good half a day." Eliza said, looking at her watch. Everything was so blurry she could hardly read the time.  
  
"Yeah," Nathan said, sitting on the couch. Eliza came over and sat next to him. He looked at her. She looked better now to him than she ever had.  
  
She leaned close to him, placing her head on his shoulder. She felt very attracted to him. She always loved guys with dark hair and the fact that he played basketball didn't hurt any either. Without thinking, she kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for making me feel so welcome in Tree Hill." She stood up and looked out the window. "Wonder what Brooke and Lucas are doing since they don't have Lilia tonight?"  
  
Nathan walked up behind her, the alcohol was taking over. It was making him feel like his old self. He ran his hand down her back, pushed her blonde hair over to one side of her shoulder, and kissed her neck. "Bet they are doing something like this."  
  
Eliza wondered what he was doing, but the liquor and the smell of Polo Blue made her forget everything. She turned around, now facing him and let her lips press against his. She felt her back press against the wooden door and his hands begin to slide up her sweater. There was no going back now.  
  
He picked her up; her long legs wrapped around his waist. The thought of his wife never even crossed his mind. He was the old Nathan now. The devious, sex hungry, star basketball player that he had been for so many years. Everything about Eliza brought that out in him. Her warm skin, her sweet tasting lips, and her toned, tanned body. He wanted her right here, right now.  
  
Laying on the couch, Nathan ran his hands up and down her body. She kissed him passionately and thought, "We are really going to do this." She didn't mind. She missed this feeling. The feeling of such power over men. This always used to happen to her. She hadn't done anything like this since Reed was born.  
  
Nathan's lips on her stomach sent chills down her spin. She pulled off his sweatshirt to reveal his perfect torso. She ran her hand up and down his body. She pointed to his nipple, referring to the ring in it.  
  
He shrugged his shoulders and said, "Spur of the moment type thing."  
  
She winked at him and began where she left off. Neither of them knew what they were doing and the effects that it would have on their lives as well as the lives of their friends. If they didn't tell no one would know. Not even the sleeping Haley one room away. 


	7. Better Left Unsaid

Chapter Six

Better Left Unsaid  
  
The house was silent. Lucas sat cross armed in the middle of the couch, sandwiched in between a hostile Brooke, who was wrapped in a fleece blanket, and a distressed Peyton, leaning away from Lucas scared of what Brooke might say if she saw Peyton's leg touch his. Lucas closed his eyes and leaned his head back on the top of the couch. Peyton flipped through the channels, while Brooke scanned through her new Vogue magazine.  
  
She threw the magazine onto the coffee table, looked at Peyton and then to Lucas, and said, "I'm going to sleep."  
  
Lucas stood up to follow her into the bedroom, "Then I guess I will too." He folded the blanket that Brooke had been using and put it away.  
  
"No," Brooke quickly whipped her head around as she reached the end of the hallway, "Not tonight." She opened the door and walked into the room. He watched the maple door slam shut.  
  
He looked back at Peyton and sat next to her. "Damnit." He put his elbows on his knees and then put his hands in his head.  
  
Peyton stopped on The Breakfast Club and turned her head toward Lucas, "She do this a lot?"  
  
He shook his head and slowly looked up at her, "No, she has been fine."  
  
"Oh," Peyton said as she stood up and walked into the kitchen. She put her hand into the cookie jar and pulled out one oatmeal rasin and one chocolate chip. Talking one bite from the chocolate chip cookie she said, "Sorry."  
  
"No, Peyton, I didn't mean it like that." She handed him the other cookie. "How did you know?" He asked her, referring to his favorite cookie.  
  
She shrugged her shoulders and sat down next to him on the couch, "I'm just good I guess." She finished the cookie and said, "You know, that when we did what we did, I never expected it to have the consequences that it did. I never thought that my best friend would hate me for two years. But then again, the fact that she was pregnant didn't help any, but no one knew..."  
  
"I know," He reached for the remote and turned off the television, "I didn't either. But, I mean, I'm over it." He threw the last piece of cookie into his mouth, "I just wish she could get over it too."  
  
"Yeah, well, we screwed up." She looked around the room, remembering so many things that happened in this house. "Remember when we watched every single cult scary movie in here that one night."  
  
"Yeah. We had fun together."  
  
"Yeah, you know, I wish that we weren't under these circumstances."  
  
"What do you mean?"  
  
She pulled her legs in close to her chest. "Come on Lucas, you know what I mean. You and Brooke, the baby, me and you. Sometimes I wonder if we could have had something." She crossed her arms over her chest, "Do you ever think about that?"  
  
"Peyton, I wish that I could sit here right now and tell you that I didn't. That would make everything so much easier. If I could, then maybe Brooke would have an easier time forgiving me, but she knows that I did have feelings for you. And she knows that I will, more than likely, always have feelings for you."  
  
"Then what are we doing."  
  
"All I know is what I am doing..."  
  
"And what is that Lucas?" She said anxiously, watching his every move.  
  
"I am being happy." He stood up and put his hands in his pocket, "I am in love with Brooke. She makes me happier than anything ever has. I am so crazy about her I can barely stand it. And I have a daughter with her and when ever I look at Lilia I am just amazed. Sometimes I wonder if I love Lilia so much because she is _my_ daughter or if it is because she is _Brooke's_ daughter."  
  
He walked down the hallway to see Brooke standing in the open door. She had on his boxers and an oversized Tree Hill basketball tee shirt. She was chewing on her lip, as she always did when she was deep in though. She flipped her dark ponytail over her shoulder and crossed her arms, "Did you mean that? I mean everything?"  
  
Lucas nodded his head and put his hands on her hips, kissed her on the lips and said, "I love you more than anything."  
  
She smiled and watched Lucas walk over to his suitcase, pulling out another tee shirt. He undressed, down to his boxers, put on the tee shirt, and crawled into the turned down bed. Brooke walked back out into the living room, to see Peyton lying on the couch.  
  
"Hey." She said walking toward the couch and sitting in a chair next to Peyton.  
  
She looked up at Brooke, "Oh, hey."  
  
Brooke bit her lip, nervous again. "Okay, Peyton, I know I have been a real bitch for the past..."  
  
"Eighteen years of your life?"  
  
She smiled at her and said, "Yeah, but, the past two years to you especially..."  
  
"Look Brooke I didn't come here to have you apologize to me."  
  
"I know, but I figured while you and I were in at least a one mile radius of one another, I might as well." Peyton looked at her, waiting for the apology. Brooke laughed at her and said, "Guess you are waiting?"  
  
"If you are willing, then go right ahead."  
  
Brooke took a deep breath and mumbled, "I am sorry for being a bitch to you for so long."  
  
"Well I guess that is better than nothing." Brooke looked at her, waiting for the apology from Peyton in return. "Okay, fine, I'm sorry for everything that I have done to hurt you in the past few years."  
  
Brooke jumped onto the couch and wrapped her arms around Peyton. She could see down the hall, Lucas was standing in the door opening watching everything. She pulled away and pointed toward him, "I guess I better get back in there."  
  
Peyton laughed, "Yeah. Just be careful." Brooke looked back at her. Lucas put his hand on her back. Peyton said, "We really don't need another baby from you all."  
  
Lucas and Brooke looked at each other with affectionate eyes and laughed, "Don't worry; we don't need another one either." She took his hand and led him back toward the bed. She kissed him on the forehead and said, "But maybe someday."  
  
"What?" A clueless Lucas said.  
  
She pulled the covers over their bodies and snuggled in close to him, "You know, someday we can have another one."  
  
"Right, just not right now."  
  
Hitting him on the arm, "Lucas I am not insinuating anything." She turned away from him and said, "Damn you ruined the moment."  
  
He wrapped his arms around her waste, "Come on B." He felt he push him away and he sat up, turning the side lamp on, "You know what I meant."  
  
She sighed, sat up next to him, and said, "I know Luke, listen I am just tired. I'm sorry I snapped at you."  
  
He watched her bite her lip, something was going on. He knew it. She didn't do that when nothing was wrong. She had already lain back down, but he leaned over her, saying, "Hey B, what's wrong? You got something on your mind?"  
  
"No," She quickly snapped, "I just want to go to sleep. I never get any sleep and the one night I don't have Lilia waking me up; I have everything else under the moon keeping me awake."  
  
"Okay," He turned the light off, "Love you."  
  
"I love you too, babe."  
  
Something was wrong with her, he knew there was. She hadn't acted like this in a long time. The fact that she had just made up with her best friend was supposed to make her happy, but I guess sometimes there are just other things on her mind sometimes. He felt sick not knowing, but he guessed that there were just something's that were better left unsaid. He would feel even more sick if he knew what was wrong.


	8. Maybe They Do Need A Psychologist

Chapter 7  
  
Maybe They Do Need A Psychologist  
  
"What do you mean, you _think_ you are?" Lucas asked her, gradually becoming more and more aggravated by each 'beating around the bush' comment she made about the very to the point situation.  
  
Brooke stood in front of the kitchen window and looked out at the snow covered ground. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other. Reaching into the microwave, she pulled out a bowl of oatmeal which she was reheating. "It's not that hard to grasp, Lucas." The spoonful of oatmeal found her mouth and she looked toward Lucas who was sitting on the couch.  
  
He sat up on his knees and made eye contact with hers. Looking into his eyes, she missed Lilia. She reached for the phone to call Nathan's apartment but before she could dial the fourth number, Lucas had taken it away from her. "No," He put it down on the counter and took her hand, "We are going to come over here and talk about this reasonably, like adults."  
  
She rolled her eyes and sat next to him on the couch. Before he could get started on his lecture, Peyton emerged from the bathroom. She saved the day. Brooke jumped off the couch and ran toward her. "Peyton." She looked back at Lucas who was giving her an evil look. Brooke turned back to Peyton and took her hands, "Come with me to go get Lilia from Nathan's." She mouthed to her, "Please."  
  
"Okay, let me go get a coat on." Peyton grabbed her coat off the back of the couch and found her scarf lying on the floor in the kitchen. "Alright." She looked up at Brooke, who was anxiously standing at the door. She turned back to Lucas, who was sitting on the edge of the couch, scowling at Brooke. "Bye Luke."  
  
The girls took each others hands and went out the door. They climbed into Lucas' 4Runner and slowly pulled out of the driveway. Brooke reached for the radio knob and turned it on. Peyton turned it down, "What's going on?"  
  
Brooke sighed, "Nothing." She took a sharp corner. She never was the best driver, but much better than Peyton could have ever dreamed of being. Peyton looked at her knowing she was lying. "No, well... I mean..." She felt her eyes fill up. Peyton squeezed her hand. "This is so much harder than remembered."  
  
Peyton was confused. What was she talking about? What was so much harder? Then it hit her. "Are you pregnant?" She was so blunt. If Brooke hadn't lived most of her life becoming accustomed to Peyton's frankness she might have been taken aback.  
  
"I think so." She parked the car on the street in front of Nathan's apartment. As she stepped out of the car and onto the yard, her feet sunk into the snow. "Damnit." She said, picking one foot off the ground and wiping off her chestnut UGG boots. She pulled them up over her dark jeans and continued through the yard to Nathan's front door.  
  
Peyton followed behind her, hands in pockets and hat on head. Once at the door, she waited for Brooke to knock. When she did Peyton looked at her and said, "How do you know?"  
  
Brooke didn't turn to look at her. She continued staring at the door. "I just think that I am. I have been once and I know how I felt." She pointed to her stomach, "This is how I felt."  
  
A very groggy looking Nathan opened the door. Eliza stood behind him, dressed in his UNC practice jersey. Her mascara was smeared and her face was red. Brooke pushed him out of the way and searched the apartment for her daughter. She pushed the guest door open to find Lilia and Reed both in the room, each in their separate strollers. She reached into the stroller and pulled out Lilia, handed her to Peyton and then took Reed out.  
  
When she emerged from the guest room, Nathan remained in front of the door. He hadn't moved. "Damnit Nathan!" She yelled, "I trusted you with her!" She quickly turned to Eliza. There was no way she was getting off easy. "And you! You know better than this! Your son was in there all alone for only God knows how long and my daughter was in there too."  
  
She looked back and forth between the two. "How long were they in there?" No answer. She nodded her head at Eliza, "By the looks of you, probably all night." Brooke looked around the apartment, just now seeing all the clothes thrown around the living area. "You have got to be fucking kidding me!" She picked up Eliza's distressed jeans off of the floor along with Nathan's white undershirt. "I can't believe you too! Nathan, you are married."  
  
"Where is Haley?" No one spoke. Peyton watched the anger pour out. Brooke handed Reed to Peyton and continued. She looked around the apartment, like she was expecting her to be hidden in a closet or something. "Damnit, I said where is she?"  
  
"She is asleep Brooke." Eliza answered, meekly.  
  
"How kind of you to tell me."  
  
"Brooke, where the hell do you come off thinking that you can barge into my house like this?"  
  
"Nathan you are making a total ass out of yourself. Think about it. I didn't barge in here; you opened the damn door for me!" She searched through her purse for the keys to the SUV. "I can't believe this." She couldn't believe that he did that to her. Haley didn't deserve this. She stood in the door way and shook her head at him, "None of you, know what it is like to have someone you love cheat on you. None of you!"  
  
She stormed out of the door and looked back, "Come on Peyton."  
  
Nathan followed Brooke. He was only wearing his boxers, "He cheated on you with her!" He pointed to Peyton who was two steps behind Brooke. "Remember? Or now that you are a mother have you forgotten?"  
  
"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"  
  
"You have to set a good example for your daughter so she doesn't turn into a bitch like you."  
  
She raised her fist to hit him. He grabbed her arm and she did what any girl would do when she was being threatened. She kneed him in the groan. "Guess that is going to hurt too much to get on Eliza again."  
  
Peyton put Lilia in her car seat and got into the passenger seat with Reed in her arms. Eliza saw what was happening and called out to them, "What do you think you are doing?"  
  
Brooke stood up from the inside of the car so she could see over the 4Runner, "I was just about to ask you the same thing." She leaned into the SUV and started the car, "When you decide that you don't like to sleep with married me and have had time to think about what you have done, call me and I will bring you your son."  
  
The two drove off. Peyton turned around to watch Nathan and Eliza go back into the apartment. "She just gave us the finger."  
  
"Bitch, I wish I could give her something else right now." She turned the music up a little louder, "Like a good slap in the face."  
  
Peyton laughed. "So back to you being pregnant?"  
  
Brooke rolled her eyes, "As what you want."  
  
"Do you want to be?"  
  
"I don't know. I mean I didn't exactly have the best pregnancy with Lilia, but once she was here..." Brooke was so happy when she was thinking about Lilia, "I just adore her." The two looked back at the little girl in the backseat. "I just love the fact that she is me and him." She shrugged her shoulders, "Am I crazy?"  
  
"No," Peyton shook her head, "I think you're just happy."  
  
"Maybe I am."  
  
"I don't want to sound like a psychologist but I really do think you and Lucas need to talk about this whole thing."  
  
Brooke pulled the car into the driveway and turned the car off. The two remained in the car. Peyton bounced Reed on her knee and turned to Brooke. "I know, it's just, sometimes I wish that all this didn't happen. Like everything would have been so much easier if I hadn't gotten pregnant in the first place."  
  
"Shut up." Peyton opened the door and stepped into the hugest puddle of ice, water, and snow. "Shit." She looked up to see Lucas standing in front of her. Brooke was still on the other side of the car. Peyton whispered into his ear, "You two need to talk." She looked at him, "Really."  
  
Lucas walked around to the other side of the 4Runner and kissed Lilia on the head and then Brooke on the lips, "Hey babies."  
  
"Hey daddy." Brooke said, handing Lilia off to him.  
  
He followed her into the house, "Listen, I'm really sorry about this morning. I hate is when I act like that."  
  
"I know, I am too. I should have told you earlier."  
  
"Like how earlier?"  
  
"Lucas, I don't know if I am or not yet. I am just a couple weeks late, but that is nothing." She plopped down on the couch and Lucas put her feet in his lap.  
  
"Just, when we get back to Wake we will go to the doctor to find out and... if you are, then you are if you're not then you're not."  
  
"My Lucas Scott you sound so wise." She smirked at him.  
  
He put Lilia on her stomach. "She is pretty perfect." He said running his hand over her dark hair.  
  
"Yeah, she is." Brooke rubbed her stomach. "I bet this one will be too."  
  
"If there is one." Lucas said quickly, wondering if she really did want another child because he was almost one hundred percent sure he did.  
  
"Right." She said nodding at him.  
  
"I almost hope there is." Lucas said, pulling her UGGs off of her feet and rubbing them.  
  
She nodded again, "I think I want another one." She closed her eyes and put her hands on Lilia's waist, "I mean, this is definitely not the circumstances I wanted to start a family under," She opened her eyes and looked into his ocean blues, "but I don't mind so much anymore." 


	9. Old Flames and Baby Fever

Chapter 8

Old Flames and Baby Fever  
  
She hated to sound too shallow, Brooke hated shallow people, but Brooke loved shopping. She loved the fact that by changing your clothes people would change their opinions of you. Since no one in Wake Forest knew her, she started dressing unlike the way she dressed in Tree Hill. No tight clothes. No short skirts. She was a mother now you know. _But lets just say she was using_ _her new "mother" breasts to her advantage._  
  
Peyton was the one who asked if she wanted to go. Brooke was not one to turn down a shopping experience, especially around Christmas time. She had some last minute gift to buy, including Lucas'. What was there to buy him? As well as Brooke knew Lucas, she had no idea what to get him for Christmas.  
  
Sitting in the car on the way to Peyton was thinking. She took a sharp turn and said, "I wish I had left on a good note." She put her fingers in her messy blonde hair and turned to Brooke.  
  
Her arms were across her chest, her breasts spilling out of her V-Neck sweater. She looked at her nails, "I was just ready to leave. I didn't care what kind of note it was."  
  
"Yeah, well I just regret a lot I guess..." She looked back to Brooke, "And your boobs look huge."  
  
Brooke shrugged her shoulders, "They are, they whole mother thing does it to you." She thought about what Peyton had said, about regretting a lot. "Yeah there are plenty of things I regret."  
  
"Like what?"  
  
She leaned back and crossed her legs. She shook her leg until her favorite pair of Stuart Weitzman pump slipped of her foot. "Being a bitch, being a cheerleader, being a mom."  
  
"You don't regret being a mom, Brooke, you don't mean that."  
  
"No, I don't regret having Lilia. She is the best thing that has ever happened to me. I just, I wish I hadn't gotten myself in that situation. Things might be a lot easier."  
  
Peyton pulled into the mall parking lot, turned off the car and looked at Brooke, "A lot of things would be easier had we just changed our tune a little."  
  
"Yeah," Brooke opened the door and climbed out. A small amount of snow covered her shoe. "Damn." She shook her foot and said, "Guess that what I get for wearing high heals in the dead of winter."  
  
As soon as they duo walk in the doors, they saw a familiar face. Brooke never forgot a face, especially when it looked like that. His James Dean good looks sent her into a swoon and she questioned why she left him in the first place. Lucas, she reminded herself.  
  
"Daniel. Daniel Howard. I didn't expect to see you here." Brooke ran her long fingers through her dark hair and crossed her arms. The cashmere sweater felt so good on her hands she wished everything she owned was this material.  
  
He looked so good, she thought. Freshman year had done no wrong to him. He finally spoke with his southern twang that Brooke loved so much. "I did expect to you here." He winked at her. "Peyton Sawyer. Long time no see."  
  
"Yeah, where are you at these days?"  
  
"Chapel Hill. I play ball with Nate."  
  
"No kidding, what a small world." Brooke said sorting through a stack of purses, lifting on up and giving it a good look. She sat it back down; it made her arm look short.  
  
"Yeah, I think maybe I am coming over for dinner tomorrow night." Daniel ran his fingers through his dark hair and ran his eyes over Brooke then Peyton. Why had he never noticed Peyton before? Maybe because he was too busy noticing Brooke.  
  
Peyton shrugged her shoulders, "I don't know. Maybe, possibly."  
  
"Wait," Brooke said, remembering something Daniel had told her, "I thought you were going to Wake Forest. I just remembered that. That's where Lucas and I go but I..."  
  
"Yeah," He put his hands deep into his pockets, "Well I found out my ex- girlfriend went there, the one I was dating a couple years back, and lets just say I was less than honest with her."  
  
Brooke squinted her eyes at him and said, "Why am I not surprised?"  
  
"Maybe because I am the male version of you Brooke my dear and you have definitely been less than honest in your day."  
  
"That is a definite possibility."  
  
Peyton took Brooke's hand, "Well Daniel it was nice seeing you..."  
  
"The pleasures all mine." He winked at the girls and watched them slowly walk away.  
  
Brooke turned around, "Maybe we will see you tomorrow night or sometime."  
  
"Maybe." He had such confidence. Brooke always loved that in a man. She closed her eyes remembering what she had at home. Lucas, Lilia. She rubbed her abdomen and thought about the new addition that may be coming into their life.  
  
"Hey," Peyton said turning around and walking in Daniel's direction. She gave him a slip of paper, leaned close to him, and whispered into his ear, "Call me sometime if you want."  
  
He nodded and said, "For you beautiful," He put his hands on her lower back, "Anything."  
  
Peyton bit her lower lip, trying not to smile but her eyes said it all. She liked him and Brooke caught on. "My Miss Sawyer you were all on him like a fat kid on cake."  
  
She gave Brooke a disgusted look, "No I wasn't."  
  
"Yes you were."  
  
"Okay fine, I was." She melted. "He is very attractive. I will give him that. But he is not my type, in anyway."  
  
Brooke rolled her eyes, "Who cares what type he is. Look at him. He is the best looking guy I have ever seen in my life. If I hadn't..." Brooke caught herself and stopped.  
  
"Don't say it. I would hate to get mad at you right now especially for saying something that you didn't."  
  
Nodding her head, Brooke said, "I know." She walked into Toys R US and Peyton followed behind. "Okay something for Lilia and something for Reed."  
  
They went through toy after toy. Peyton hadn't been in a toy store in so long that she couldn't believe some of the toys. After looking at the things for toddlers and infants she said, "I want one."  
  
A clueless Brooke pulled out a breast pump, "One of these?" She gave it a good look and actually contemplated buying thinking that it might be a good investment especially with the condition she might be in.  
  
"No," Peyton rapidly shook her head, "A baby." She took the pump from Brooke and put it back on the shelf. "That is disturbing."  
  
Brooke let out a sigh and laughed, "You wanting a baby is disturbing." She took the pump back off the shelf and showed it to Peyton, "This is functional." She threw it into the cart. She was buying it. Peyton might not appreciate a good breast pump but a new baby sure would.  
  
"No, seeing you and Lucas with Lilia and then you having another one..."  
  
"Maybe having another one. Not sure yet."  
  
"Why the hell don't you go to the doctor?"  
  
"Because."  
  
"Wow, what an adult answer. No really Brooke I think it would be a good idea."  
  
"Stop changing the subject. We are not talking about me having a baby here."  
  
"Yes we are."  
  
"Oh yeah, we were."  
  
Peyton laughed and say down on a PlaySkool child's chair. "No, you are just so happy and I want that."  
  
"Ya know I bet Daniel will have..." Brooke said, giving Peyton a knowing look. Peyton was attracted to Daniel and Brooke knew it. Peyton might as well have had a sign on her forehead that said, "I think you are damn hott".  
  
"Shut up. I am being serious..."  
  
"I was too." Brooke gave her a serious look.  
  
Peyton looked around the toy store, "Come on. Get what you want. I am ready to get out of here."  
  
"You are just having baby fever."  
  
"I think you are too." Peyton said putting her hand on top of Brooke's stomach. "No, I think you are having a baby, not just fever."  
  
Brooke hit her on the arm. Maybe she was. Brooke was scared to take the test. Everything would change again, but maybe it didn't have to. Maybe the second child was easier than the first. Guess she was going to have to find out.  
  
**Author Note: I know this chapter was pretty boring, but it is setting up some very interesting things to come. So, what do you think? Do you like: That Daniel Howard is back? That Brooke might be pregnant again? That Peyton wants to be pregnant?  
  
Tell me what you think. I always take advice.**


	10. Out In The Open and Out Of The Blue

**Author Note**: This one is **dedicated** to **DuckyGirl**, **SpoiledChick08**, **RasberryGirl**, **OneTreeHillFan213**, and my dear **Emba**! Thanks everyone for reviewing!  
  
Chapter 9

Out of in Open and Out of the Blue  
  
"Close your eyes." Brooke did just as Haley said. Her voice had a calming effect on Brooke that she just didn't quite understand. She pulled her legs in close to her body and wrapped her arms around her knees. "What do you see?"  
  
She squeezed her eyes closed tighter and thought long and hard. She ran her hands over the couch that she was sitting on. "I see me on the beach with Lucas and everyone else around..."  
  
Haley nodded, "Good, that's good Brooke. What else do you see?" Haley leaned forward in her chair waiting for Brooke's answer.  
  
"I see everyone else there. We are having a wedding." She quickly opened her eyes and leaned toward Haley. She put her hand on Haley's knee, "But that's not what I want. I don't want to get married."  
  
"I think it might be." Haley raised her eyebrow and stood up. She called out, "Nathan. You need to get ready. Everyone else will be here soon."  
  
Lucas emerged from the bathroom and walked behind Brooke. He looked over at the stroller where Lilia was resting. "What's up girls?"  
  
Brooke shook her head and Haley said, "Nothing. Just girl talking." She stood up and walked into the bedroom where Nathan was sitting on the bed. "Hey honey." She tried to kiss him on the head.  
  
He slightly pushed her away and stood up, "I need to get dressed."  
  
Confused, she said, "Oh. Okay." Before she was out of the room, she turned around, "Something wrong?"  
  
Shaking his head he said, "No. Nothing." He blew her a fake his and she left the room. He knew that he should tell her about what happened with him and Eliza, but he just couldn't bear to. It would break her heart and that was the last thing he wanted to do. He knew that he could use the drunk excuse, but that would only work for so long.  
  
He was nervous about seeing Eliza that night and when he heard his wife greet her, he got even more nervous. His heart started to race and he quickly got dressed. He threw on a pair of AG jeans and a red sweater. He walked out of the room and saw her from down the hallway.  
  
She stood at the front door. Her blonde hair was down for the first time. Dressed in a pair of low rise jeans and a black turtleneck she looked great. He smiled at her and she smiled back. He felt a simple attraction toward her. He knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help it. Whether or not the attraction was mainly physical or not didn't matter to him.  
  
He walked toward her and took Reed. He gave her a platonic kiss on the cheek and smiled. Brooke felt as if she was going to vomit. She squeezed Lucas' hand and narrowed her eyes. Lucas didn't know what was going on, but by the looks of Nathan he had a feeling.  
  
Lilia started to cry and when Reed her he did the same. Brooke went over to the stroller and took her out. Lucas watched her rock the baby back and forth wondering why Brooke chose him. She sat next to him on the couch, reached for his hand, and kissed him on the cheek. He smiled and winked at her.  
  
Haley watched them, jealous. She remembered when Nathan used to act like that with her. She thought of the time in their relationship when Nathan would have done anything for her. Now he was barely even talking to her and if he was then it was all about him. She had never realized how self centered he was until now.  
  
The front door opened and Peyton staggered in, "Sorry." She stared at her watch and then looked at Haley, "Am I late?"  
  
Haley quickly shook her head, "Oh no. One more person left." She stood in the kitchen, watching Nathan and Eliza chatting in the living room. Nathan bounced Reed on his knee and Eliza would casually touch his arm and laugh. Haley squinted her eyes at them and tapped her fingers on the linoleum counter.  
  
Brooke looked at Haley and then to Peyton, who was watching Nathan and Eliza. She looked disgusted, while Brooke was disgusted. Brooke handed Lilia to Lucas and walked into the kitchen. Peyton followed.  
  
Peyton put her arm around Haley, "What's wrong honey?" She knew what was wrong. Haley's husband was practically groping this hussy while Haley was in the room.  
  
"I just never realized how much of a bastard he was." She was angry, very rarely did Haley Scott get made but now was definitely one of those times. "Did he not even know I was in there?"  
  
Lucas entered and all of the girls looked at him. Brooke sighed, "Oh its just you." She turned back to Haley and held her hand.  
  
"Oh, well, if you are going to say it like that then I will just go back in there."  
  
"Do you enjoy Gropefest in there?" Peyton asked, sarcastically.  
  
"No, not exactly. Poor Reed had to witness it all. I mean she is his mother..."  
  
"And he is my husband." Haley interrupted, reaching into the oven and pulling out the baked potatoes. She felt her eyes slowly fill up with tears. She stood up and began to poke at the potatoes, "I gave up everything for him." She stabbed one potato so hard that it shot across the room.  
  
"That one can be mine." Peyton said rubbing Haley on the back.  
  
The doorbell rang and everyone looked toward the door. Brooke and Peyton entered into the living room. They knew who it was. Peyton anxiously watched the door open and Daniel walk in.  
  
Eliza eyes opened, wide. Her mouth dropped open, "Dan?"  
  
He whipped his head around to look at her, "Eliza?"  
  
Brooke and Peyton looked at each other puzzled. Peyton's mouth dropped open and Brooke smiled. A devious smile, but a smile nonetheless  
  
"You two know each other?" Nathan asked handing Reed to Eliza and standing up.  
  
"Yeah, we..."  
  
"Used to date." Daniel finished for her.  
  
"But..."  
  
"Nathan, shut the hell up and let the old friends talk. You are such an asshole." Brooke said interrupting her. The fact that she hadn't had a full night sleep in as long as she could remember and that Nathan was wearing on her last nerve sparked their confrontation.  
  
He turned to her, "I wasn't talking to you." Quietly he said, "Stupid bitch."  
  
Lucas entered the room, "What did you say?"  
  
Brooke turned to Lucas who had Lilia in his arms, "I can do this myself. Trust me. Go back in there with Haley." Brooke walked toward Nathan, "Listen here you ignorant asshole, just because you boned Eliza doesn't mean that she is yours for the keeping. You have a wife who you should be with right now." She pointed to Eliza, "Not with her. I am sick of your shit Nathan Scott. You are the cockiest bastard that I have ever met in my life and I am sorry as hell that it took Haley this long to realize that about you. She deserves to know what you did but you don't have enough balls to tell her." She cocked her head at him, touché. "And I'm not sorry that you screwed up your fairytale life but I am sorry, so sorry that you screwed it up for Haley."  
  
Lucas had tried to stop her from coming into the room, but couldn't. She stood in the doorway, eyes filled with tears. She crossed her arms, "Is that true?"  
  
"Hales, come on..."  
  
"Damnit Nathan! Stop lying to me! Is that true?" She yelled at him and felt Lucas hand on her back. He didn't answer and she shook her head, "That is answer enough for me." She looked down and walked closer toward him. "You asshole."  
  
She grabbed her keys and stormed out the door. Nathan didn't even follow after her. Lucas did. The pairs stood outside in the freezing cold. He tried to talk some sense into her, but couldn't. She wanted to leave so he took her back to his mom's house.  
  
Back inside the house, Peyton, Brooke and Daniel all sat on the couch while Eliza sat in a chair as did Nathan. Daniel looked at Reed who was sitting on Eliza's lap. He stood up and ran his hand over the child's head, "So, is this him?"  
  
Eliza nodded her head and handed Reed to Daniel. He was speechless. "Why did you lie to me?"  
  
Brooke had to bite her lip. Eliza was in no shape to ask about lying.  
  
"I was there for the summer. I hadn't graduated. I didn't want a baby. I was scared."  
  
Peyton and Brooke stared at each other. Reed was Daniel's baby. They couldn't believe it. Peyton closed her eyes. She didn't really mind. Being a father didn't make him any less attractive to her. Brooke knew what she was thinking and hit her on the arm. "Ow. What?" Peyton asked. Brooke narrowed her eyes at Peyton and shook her head.  
  
"Like I wasn't?"  
  
"I don't know. I was leaving anyway. I didn't go to Livingston to get a girl pregnant."  
  
"Well getting pregnant definitely wasn't on my agenda for the summer. I mean I was going to be Miss Teen USA."  
  
Peyton and Brooke rolled their eyes. They knew that Nathan and Eliza were perfect for each other. They stood up. They couldn't take the selfish talk any long. "Want some Chic-Fil-A?" Brooke asked.  
  
"Might as well." Peyton said putting her coat on.  
  
The three girls, Peyton, Brooke and Lilia left the house without turning back. Peyton wished Daniel could come but he had Daddy Business to attend to. She didn't want to bother the bonding time. Peyton started to get in her car and Brooke looked around, "Damn. I am going to have to ride with you."  
  
"Don't be scared. I am a better driver and I especially will be with the baby in the car."  
  
"Baby on Board."  
  
"Exactly." Peyton started the car and looked at Brooke, "I still want one."  
  
Brooke rolled her eyes, "Shut up and drive. I have got to get the hell out of here."

* * *

**So what do you think? Like that Daniel is Reed's daddy? Don't like that? Think that Eliza and Nathan are perfect for each other? Want Nathan and Haley back together? Want Brooke to be pregnant? Tell me what you think!**


	11. Two Sides To Everything

Chapter 10   
Two Sides To Everything

**_Five Months Later_**

Lying on the couch in the apartment, Brooke casually rubbed her stomach as she had become so accustomed to doing. Lucas watched Lilia crawl toward her mother. He followed her and lifted her so she could reach Brooke. Lilia kissed the protruding stomach and Brooke beamed.  
  
"Who is that, Lil?" He asked her as he rocked Lilia back and forth in his arms. His fatherly instincts were more present now then they had ever been. When he realized that he was going to be a father again, he got it act together. He could fight about stupid things, he had to be patient, and he had to be an adult.  
  
Brooke winked at her daughter and sat up to give Lucas a kiss. He sat next to her on the couch and put Lilia on his lap. He ran his hands over her abdomen. They were one big happy family. He had wanted to make it permanent for so long, but now was the time.  
  
Lucas stood up and walked into the back room. When he returned, Brooke was watching and studying every move Lilia made. Lucas smiled at her and entered the room. She looked up at him, "What are you doing? You've been acting weird today." He said nothing and she looked back to the television.  
  
"That is so stupid. These people who showcase their dating experiences on TV for the whole world to see are idiots and then, here's the kicker for me, they get married at the end." She looked to Lucas, "I mean you and I have been together for longer, have a child, and have had our ups and downs and we are no where close to getting married."  
  
Lucas nervously fiddled with something in his pocket. His voice cracked, "Yeah. You're right. No where close." He walked back into the backroom.  
  
Brooke stood up, put Lilia in her playpen, and followed Lucas. "Lucas, what's up?" She put her hand on his back and he quickly whipped around.  
  
"Sometimes I just don't get you Brooke."  
  
"What are you talking about?" She laughed, "I know I am a little complicated sometimes but..."  
  
"No buts Brooke, I am being serious. I don't know what you want."  
  
She put her hands on his shoulders and tried to kiss him. "I just want you." He shunned her and she said, frustrated, "Is that not good enough for you?"  
  
"Ya know what Brooke, that isn't good enough for me anymore."  
  
Her mouth dropped open. She was more confused and dumbfounded by him then she had ever been. She watched him pace across their room. Not knowing what to say, her eyes filled with tears.  
  
Lucas noticed her tears. Drop after drop fell from her face onto the carpet floor. He felt as if he should do something, maybe take back what he had said, but he meant it. Every bit of it. It was just he hated it when she cried.  
  
She sat on the end of the bed and looked up at him. He cringed at the sadden look in her eyes. "I don't think I understand, I thought everything was fine." She wiped her eyes and looked at the floor, "I thought we were fine."  
  
He continued to pace, but paused for a moment, "We were fine. Brooke I just feel like it is time to take that next step..."  
  
"Why Lucas? What's the point if we are happy?"  
  
"Brooke come on..."  
  
"No Lucas you come on." She looked up at him and shook her head, "You are always thinking about yourself. Its never about what Brooke wants, it's always about you. You don't give a damn if I want to get married."  
  
"Brooke..."  
  
"You know it's true."  
  
"I never said I didn't want to get married. I do, I want to get married to you right now, before the baby's born."  
  
"Well I don't."  
  
"You can't decide that quickly."  
  
"Why can't I?"  
  
"Damnit Brooke you are being so irrational. You are acting like a child."  
  
She stood up and placed her hands under her abdomen, "Don't you get it Lucas! We are still children. I am only eighteen, almost 19." She walked over to the bedside table and picked up her purse. She grabbed her car keys and left the bedroom. "I can't do this anymore. I just can't."  
  
"Brooke, come on. Come back." He watched her open the door, "I didn't mean it."  
  
She looked back at him, "If you didn't mean it you wouldn't have said it." She slammed the door behind her.  
  
Lucas came into the hallway, "Brooke, what am I supposed to do with Lilia?"  
  
"You figure it out since you are such an adult." She turned around and put her hands on her hips, "Adults know what to do with babies." She spun back around and left the apartment building.  
  
Sitting in her Beemer, the tears began to pour from her eyes. She reached for her mirror and looked at herself. Her eyes were red and puffy from crying. She searched for her cell phone and scanned through her phonebook. The tears had almost ceased, when suddenly they began to fall even more rapidly then before. There was no one to call, so just drove until she reached a familiar place. Tree Hill.

* * *

Peyton leaned foreword on the bench, watching Daniel play with Reed. She watched them slide down the slide, swing on the swing, and dangle on the monkey bars. Peyton smiled for the first time since her mom died. So this is what happiness feels like, she asked herself.  
  
Reed waddled toward her and grabbed at her knees. "Pey." She picked him up and sat him on her lap. She bounced him on her knee and they both enjoyed every second of it.  
  
She watched Daniel carefully. His hands were deep in his pockets. Peyton questioned him, "What are you..."  
  
Out of his pocket, Daniel pulled a velvet box. He slowly opened it and looked up at Peyton. "Pey, I know we haven't been together for long but I have never felt like this with anyone else in my life and with that I know that I want to feel like this for the rest of my life. I want to be with you forever." He dropped to his knees and said the four words that Peyton had never expected to hear in her life, "Will you marry me?"  
  
Her eyes opened to the size of half dollars and her mouth dropped to the ground. She couldn't speak, but instead nodded, rapidly. Both were beaming. Reed sat in Peyton's lap confused. He wouldn't be the only one.

* * *

"Shut up Nathan, just shut the hell up." Eliza yelled as Nathan continued mouthing at her from the kitchen. She ran her fingers through her hair and emerged from the bathroom, dressed in definite club attire: tight, dark jeans and a barely there nude colored lace camisole.  
  
"Eliza, you are such a bitch sometimes." He watched her walk into the living room of his apartment and sit on the couch. "But then I look at you and remember why I am with you."  
  
She rolled her eyes and pushed his hands off of her, "We are not together. How many times do I have to tell you, we are just friends...?"  
  
"With benefits." Nathan interrupted as his ran his hands over the curve in her waist.  
  
Pushing his hands off she said, "Right, with benefits... or something like that." She slipped on her favorite pair of Marc Jacobs high heels and grabbed her purse. "Are you ready?"  
  
He nodded his head and reached for the car keys, "Ready as ever." He followed close behind her and ran his fingers down her back, ending at her lower back. He traced her tattoo, the Chinese symbols for love and hate.  
  
Nathan always thought that explained their relationship better then anything. Sometimes they loved each other, but other times they despised one another. Sometimes Nathan thought that tattoo should say bitch or I hate you instead.

* * *

Haley sat on the edge of the dock. Her feet dangled toward the water but didn't touch it. She just sat there and thought. She laid back and closed her eyes. A part of Haley had known all along that she and Nathan would never work out. Of course she loved him but now that she thought back on it, maybe she didn't love all of him. Maybe she didn't love the real Nathan. She only loved the Nathan that Haley knew.  
  
Her thought were interrupted by a familiar voice. A voice she had worked with for so long. "As much as you think about it... it isn't going to get any easier." She looked up at the voice.  
  
"Are you upside down or am I?" It was Jake.  
  
"Depends on how you look at it." He replied with a smile.  
  
"Well to me you are upside down."  
  
"And to me you are."  
  
"Glass half empty, half full?" Haley asked him as she sat up and crossed her legs.  
  
He sat down next for her and dropped his legs into the water, "Today." Jake looked at her, "Half full. How about you?"  
  
She smiled at his comment, "Lately it's been half empty." Haley turned to Jake and said, "But right now it's half full."  
  
Jake looked at his watch, "Speaking of. WE better get back to those glasses. We have work in fifteen minutes."  
  
Haley lay back down, "Don't you ever just not want to go?"  
  
He looked over her, "Yeah, but then I remember I have a baby to feed and a Jake to feed."  
  
Haley smiled and let Jake pull her up, "Fine I'll go. I don't want to, but I will."  
  
"Good decision." The two walked back to their cars.  
  
"I haven't made too many of those lately." Haley said as she unlocked her door.  
  
"Sometimes you make good ones sometimes you make bad ones." He stood in front of her now and took her hand, "But Hales it's not like you knew it was a bad idea then." Jake kicked the gravel and then looked back up at Haley, "I have this theory."  
  
Haley smiled at him. He was so earnest and she appreciated that about him. "What would that be?"  
  
"At one point in time everything seems like a good idea and at another point in time that same idea seems like the worst idea in the world."  
  
"Like there are two sides to everything."  
  
"Exactly."  
  
She kissed him on his left cheek. "There's one side." She kissed his right cheek, "There's the other side." She looked at him and said, "I don't see how that could be a bad decision."

**Author Note:** Hope no one is confused. In the beginning of the chapter Lucas and Brooke are still in Wake Forest. They have their own apartment there. Eliza is living with Nathan at his apartment in Tree Hill. Peyton and Daniel are together in Tree Hill. Haley is currently single and living in Tree Hill as is Jake.

Did you like the format of this chapter or not? Tell me. You all know how much I love feedback! Thanks to everyone who has been reviewing and to RasberryGirl you had some excellent ideas, as did everyone else so we will just have to see what happens. Thanks for reading. More coming soon!


	12. Feels Like Home

Chapter 11

Feels Like Home  
  
It was a time in her life when she needed her mother, a companion, someone to share her successes and failures with. She had nothing like that. She felt so alone.  
  
It was hard being happy for everyone whose lives were just now unfolding while her world was crumbling down. Brooke knew her life with Lucas had been too good to be true. Being happy scared her. Of course she wanted to marry Lucas, but she wanted him to want to marry her, not Lilia and the baby on the way.  
  
Brooke sighed and rested her left hand on her stomach, while the other hand steered the wheel. She stared out the window, watching sign after sign pass by, and anxiously waiting for the one she needed.  
  
There it was. Tree Hill 3 miles next exit. She felt she might have an anxiety attack, not just because she was almost home but because the one person who made everywhere feel like home was not with her.

* * *

Lilia was crying and had been for the past hour or so. Lucas looked at the clock on the microwave. Make that an hour and seventeen minutes, he thought to himself.  
  
"Momma, mommy!" Lilia screeched as Lucas tried to calm her as he rocked her back and forth, side to side. She continued and the rocking ceased.  
  
He rested her on his thighs, "Please Lil, I don't know where mommy went." For a moment she stopped crying. He let out a long sigh of relief and kissed her on the forehead, "Thank you baby doll."  
  
Leaning back on the couch, he closed his eyes but before he could fall asleep she began crying again. He sighed once more and felt like screaming. He opened his bright blue eyes and carried Lilia into the bedroom with him. Looking into the mirror, his eyes seemed dim. It's because she is gone, he thought to himself. He looked at Lilia and ran his hand over her dark brown hair.  
  
He laid her on the queen sized bed and pulled a suitcase out of the closet. Looking over at Lilia, he said, "I have to go find her. We have to go get mommy back, Lil."

* * *

Peyton never thought she would be like this. She never wanted to be like this. She was what she hated about women. Everything she had ever dreamed of, she gave up to be with him and for that she hated herself.  
  
Staring at the ring on her finger, Peyton felt she might vomit. Suddenly she wondered why she was doing this. She wondered if this was really what she wanted. She wanted Daniel to walk through the door of his apartment right at that moment. She wanted to see him and all her doubts be pushed aside.  
  
The door opened, Peyton expected it to be him. A pregnant, tear streaked Brooke walked in through the door. She put her hands below her stomach and said, "I didn't know where else to go."  
  
Peyton stood up and rushed toward Brooke, "What happened? What's wrong? Are you okay?"  
  
"Lucas and I, we were fighting, it was my fault... I know it was..." She paused and looked up at Peyton, "He wants to get married..."  
  
"What is so bad about that?"  
  
"I want him to marry me."  
  
"That's what he wants to do Brooke."  
  
"No, he wants to marry Lilia..."  
  
"Brooke, don't be silly."  
  
"No, Peyton I know he does... he thinks that is what I want. I never had the picket fence and I never will."  
  
"Well talking like that there is no way you will. Maybe someday, you never know."  
  
"The pessimist herself is speaking positively for the first time in her life, what's up?  
  
Brooke looked Peyton up and down. Her eyes stopped on Peyton's left- hand, "Shut up." She grabbed her hand, "What is this all about?"  
  
The door open again and Daniel entered, "Hey. Oh Brooke, hey. Pregnant again I see."  
  
"You ass, you knew that." Brooke said, hugging him.  
  
"Boy, girl?" Daniel asked.  
  
"Don't know."  
  
"I hope boy, for Lucas' sake."  
  
Peyton shook her head at Daniel and he quickly stopped talking. "Daniel, babe, um... Reed has wanted to go to the park today, maybe you could take him."  
  
He caught on, got Reed, and left the two women alone. "Okay, Brooke, tell me, what' going on?"  
  
"Where do I being?"  
  
"From the beginning?"  
  
"Well, the sort of beginning... I know up until about four or five months ago."  
  
Brooke laughed and began, "Okay..."

* * *

"Leave... me... alone!" Eliza screamed as she stormed out of the apartment she and Nathan had been sharing.  
  
He chased after her, "Fine then leave. Where are you going to go now? I am glad you are leaving. I am sick of your shit."  
  
She whipped her head around, "My shit?" She laughed and rolled her eyes, "You must be joking?"  
  
"Name me one thing I have ever done to you to make you despise me like you do?"  
  
"Come on Nathan... I don't have to give you a reason. You knew this wouldn't work. You and me, we're too alike."  
  
"You're kidding right?"  
  
Eliza placed her hands on her hips and cocked her head at him. She shook her head, "Not kidding."  
  
"I separated from my wife for you Eliza and you get mad about one little thing, storm out of the house, and leave me here back at square one?" He tried to laugh, "You have got to be kidding me."  
  
"No, Nathan, you are acting like I made you leave Haley I didn't. That was your decision." She sat down on the stoop and looked at him. She shrugged her shoulders, "Yeah, the company was good, the sex was even better but we almost hated each other."  
  
"We did not."  
  
"You are being so naive, we did so."  
  
"I know."  
  
"See?"  
  
He sat down next to her, "What do we do now?"  
  
Eliza put her hands on her knees, "I guess go back to the way it was before."  
  
Nathan stood up, angry, "Well how the hell do you expect me to do that?"  
  
"It's not just you Nathan! I don't have a place to live now! Brooke hates me, she was my only friend."  
  
"Oh it is always about you. Poor pitiful Eliza."  
  
"Shut up."  
  
"Whatever, Eliza, just go pack your bags and leave. That's what you have wanted to do since you got here anyway."  
  
Eliza gave him a look that made him wonder if she was going to hit him in the face. She didn't and he was relieved. He figured she could hit pretty hard. He continued sitting on the steps and found himself laughing and the whole situation he was in. He reached into his pocket, searching for his cell phone. He pulled it out. One missed call, it was Lucas.  
  
"Hey, I am coming into town and need somewhere to stay. I can't get a hold of my mom so if you could tell her I am coming and that it is an emergency I would appreciate it. See ya soon."

* * *

Jake and Haley stood behind the counter at Karen's Café. He put his hand on her back and she kissed him on the cheek. "Thanks for being there for me Jake."  
  
He smiled at her and watched her move into the kitchen, "Anytime." He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by Haley.  
  
"You're a good friend," She put her hands on his shoulders, "You know that?"  
  
"Yeah, thanks." He was a little disheartened. He had felt himself falling for Haley over the past few days. Jake had never realized it would happen that quickly. He felt he had to go for it, "So Hales, I was thinking, maybe you would want to have some dinner tonight with me..."  
  
She whipped her head around, smiling, "And Jenny?"  
  
She knocked me down again, he thought. "Yeah, Jenny." In the original plan, Jenny was not included."  
  
"I think that would be okay." She looked down at the tiled floor, "Listen Jake," She looked up at him and continued, "I know what is going to happen and I don't want it to. I don't want our friendship to be ruined by... this."  
  
"Nothing'll be ruined Haley."  
  
"You don't know that."  
  
"You don't know that it will."  
  
She sighed, "Dinner tonight?"  
  
"Seven."  
  
"Okay."

**Author Note: **So sorry for the lack of updates. I have been out of town since last Saturday and expected to be back Tuesday but didn't end up getting home until late, late Wednesday night. Thank you again for all the reviews and I promise more coming soon!

PS: Anyone have any ideas for baby names for Brooke and Lucas' new baby?


	13. Nothing Yet So Much

**Author Note**: Everyone, thank you so so so much for the wonderful name ideas. I love them all and thank you all for continuing to read the story. I love checking my mail and seeing reviews in my inbox it is the best feeling. I just love it. And I love you all and I love this story!   
PS: Sorry for the lack of updates. Writers block is a bitch!

Chapter 12

Nothing Yet So Much  
  
Brooke crossed and uncrossed her legs nervously. She watched Karen shuffle busily behind the counter. Brooke caught her eyes carefully watching her and walked toward the booth at which she was sitting.  
  
Karen sat across from Brooke and cautiously chose her words. "I got a message from Luke." Brooke said nothing and Karen began to anxiously wipe the table with a damp rag.  
  
"You don't have to do that now, ya know." Brooke put her hand atop Karen's, "In all the time that Lucas and I have been together you have never approached me to small talk." She sipped on her water and looked back up, "So what makes today my lucky day?"  
  
Leaning toward Brooke Karen said, "I know that you and I have never been... the best of friends..."  
  
"To say the least." Brooke interrupted.  
  
Karen sighed, "I also know that I want to be a part of your alls lives."  
  
"Whose lives?"  
  
"Lucas, Lilia, the new baby... you."  
  
Brooke shook her head, "No," She played with her straw, "I don't... you can be in your sons life and you grandchildrens lives but..."  
  
"Brooke Davis, he loves you more than life its self and opposed to popular belief I love you too." She paused and Brooke looked he in the eyes, "I understand than you are having some problems but..."  
  
"Lucas has been perfect to me since Lilia was born... but part of me, the old me, just wants to go and be a normal college student and not tied down at all." She looked down, "Is that completely self-centered of me?"  
  
Karen shook her head no, "I just think that you and Luke really need to sit down and talk everything out."  
  
Smiling, Brooke nodded and watched Karen walk away. She called after her, "Karen?"  
  
Karen quickly turned around, "Yes dear."  
  
"There's more." Brooke said as she looked down at the table.

* * *

Haley had been watchin Brooke and the clock on the farthest wall very carefully. She drummed her fingers on the counter top. In seventeen minutes and thirty seconds she would leave and go to Jake's.  
  
She crossed her arms over her chest and sighed. When the bell on the door ran Haley quickly turned her head. He stood a step inside the café searching for her. When he finally found her, he smiled.  
  
A half smile crept across her face but she tried to push it away knowing that a smile from her was exactly what he wanted.  
  
He walked toward her and she quickly turned away, walking into the kitchen. The bouquet of her favorite flowers that he had brought her sat on the counter as he followed after her.  
  
"Haley, please I just want to talk to you," Nathan said as he grabbed her arm.  
  
She glared at him, "Let go of me." She pulled her arm away and said, "You have no right to talk to me or expect me to want to talk to you after what you did to me."  
  
Nathan put his hands on his hips and let out a long sigh, "Im sorry."  
  
Haley laughed and stirred a pot of chicken noodle soup. "Oh please. You think that two words are going to make me forget everything you did?"  
  
Under his breath he said, "I hoped so."  
  
She heard him and retorted, "You hoped wrong." As she walked back to the counter she spotted the orchids on the counter and picked them up saying, "How nice." He smiled and she would have smiled back but she was too busy tossing the flowers into the tin garbage can behind the counter.  
  
Haley saw Brooke laughing at what she had done. Karen handed Haley a plate of sliced cucumbers and cheese. Haley gave her a confused look. "Pregnant, remember?"  
  
"Déjà vu. Seems like it was just yesterday she was craving hot sauce and pickles."  
  
"Haley, go." Karen said pushing her on the back.  
  
"Going, going." Haley sat the plate infront of Brooke, "Weird, but whatever."  
  
Brooke looked up at her, "I was about to say the same thing about you."  
  
The two friends narrowed their eyes at each other and then smiled at one another.  
  
"So, whats new?" Haley asked leaning forward and putting her elbows on the table.  
  
Brooke shrugged her shoulders, "I'm pregnant."  
  
Haley rolled her eyes, "Like I said, what is new?" Brooke glared at her and Haley sat back, "Kidding, geez take a joke." Brooke smiled at her and Haley leaned forward once more. "So, boy or girl?"  
  
Brooke filled her mouth with water so her reply was inaudible... for a reason.

* * *

Peyton bounced Lilia on her knee as she watched Lucas shuffle throughout the whole kitchen. She ran her fingers over Lilia's head and Lucas came into the living room area. "Just think she has to come back to Wake Forest sooner or later." Lucas looked up at her as he took a long drink from a bottle of root beer. "Her clothes are there."  
  
"Oh, yeah, right." He sighed. "So... do you know where she is?"  
  
Peyton tilted her head, "That would be betraying my friendship with Brooke and I am not going to do that to her. I have played the role of the betraying best friend enough times in my life."  
  
He rolled his eyes at her, "What a load of help you are."  
  
She covered Lilia's ears, "Asshole."  
  
Lucas smiled at her gesture. He reached into Reed's playpen and pulled him out. Setting him on his lap he said, "I would like a son I think."  
  
"You never know. Maybe it is, maybe it's a girl, maybe its bo..." Peyton quickly covered her mouth, "Uh oh."  
  
His head whipped up at her, "What did you say?"  
  
She put her hand to her forehead, "Nothing." She shook her head, "And yet so much."  
  
He stood up, handed Reed to Peyton, and said, "Watch Lil for me will ya?"  
  
"You don't know where she is!" Peyton yelled as he stormed out the door.  
  
"I have an idea!" He called back.  
  
She stood up and sat both Lilia and Reed on the couch. After she closed the door she sat back down on the couch, put her feet on the coffee table, and looked at the two playing babies, "I guess it's just you and me kids."


	14. Love, Hate, and Whatever's Inbetween

**Author Note:** I am so, so, so sorry for the lack of updates. I am terrible I know. I have been out of town and I have had an extreme case of writers block. I didn't have a clue where I wanted this story to go. Thank you to everyone who gave me names, they are all wonderful! Thanks for continuing to read this story, I definitely appreciate it!

Chapter 14

She carefully watched the door as she chewed on her straw. It was almost as if she knew he was coming. She probably did. They always knew what the other was thinking, even when they weren't together. It was that whole soul mate thing, Brooke guessed.

There he was wearing the same clothes he had on the day she left. He probably hadn't showered or slept since. He caught her looking at him. Sighing, full of relief he walked toward her.

She watched him slid into the booth across from her. He sat his elbows on the table and lowered his head into his hands. She wanted to lean in toward him, tell him that she was sorry, that everything would be okay and she would never act like that again. She couldn't, she didn't want to run the risk of it being a lie.

He didn't say anything and she was getting nervous. Maybe he didn't want to be with her anymore. Maybe he was her to tell her that it was never going to work. Brooke was getting upset. She felt sick.

Lucas felt sick too. He wondered if all this was happening for a reason. He wondered if some higher power was trying to tell them that they weren't supposed to be together and that it why everything that had happened to them in the past had happened.

They knew what each other were thinking. He looked up at her and their eyes met. Brooke wanted to look away. Those eyes that she had fallen in and out of love with so many times were looking at her with the same love that had been there forever.

She almost smiled at him, but instead said, "You know that I love you Lucas Scott." She put her hands atop his and smiled at him.

Her dimpled grin sent chills up and down his spine, "What do you think?"

Brooke looked over at Karen who was so obviously watching them. Karen quickly turned away, as if she had never been looking in the first place. "I think we are having twins. What do you think?"

"I think Peyton told me."

"That bitch." She pulled her hands away from his and crossed her arms.

Lucas leaned back in his seat, "Well, she didn't really tell..."

"Oh." She slumped her shoulders and placed her hands on he stomach, "You know we have a lot to talk about."

He nodded his head and started to slide out of the booth. She put her leg up onto the booth across from her, not allowing him to leave. "We are going to talk about this now."

Lucas moved back across the seat and put his hands on the table, "You start."

* * *

Outside the café, Haley was trying to get her car unlocked. "Damnit." She said under her breath struggling to get the key out of the lock. A hand reached from behind her, gave the key a wiggle and released it.

The male figure dropped the key into Haley's hand and leaned up against the car. Haley opened the door saying, "You never give up do you?"

He watched her climb in and said, "What can I say? I'm persistent."

Out of her rolled down window, Haley said, "You shouldn't use words you can't spell." She raised her eyebrows at him and started to back out.

He walked with the car, "Come on Haley. I told you I was sorry."

"Nathan, I thought I told you I don't care."

"Well actually you said something along the lines of 'you think two words are going to make me forget..."

She shook her head at him and started to pull away. Before she could successfully drive away, he did the unthinkable. "Nathan Scott! Get off the hood of my car."

"I am not going to get off until you accept my apology."

"Okay, fine, accepted."

He slowly climbed off the hood of the car, "How do I know you are telling the truth?"

"Trust me. I trusted you, but then again look what happened."

Nathan was off of the car and Haley hadn't pulled away, which was amazing. "Haley I'm sorry. It was a fling. Eliza and me..."

"Eliza and I..." Haley cringed at her words. "God, I feel like I need to wash my mouth after saying her name..."

"She wasn't that bad Haley."

Haley scoffed at him, "I thought you were trying to get me back, not put in a good word for her. You are unbelievable Nathan, unbelieveable."

She started to drive off again, but he stopped her once more, "It was a one night stand..."

"That lasted four months..."

"Haley, listen...."

"No Nathan, you listen, I am not going to take you back, there is nothing you or anyone else could think of to make me want to get back together with you. Nothing."

He watched the car pull away once and for all and reached into his pocket, searching for his cell phone. He only knew one person who could help him get her back. Brooke.

* * *

Brooke too busy getting her own life back on the right track to answer her phone. Lucas was becoming irritated with the obnoxious ring so he insisted that she answer it. She shuffled through mounds of objects in her purse until finally finding her cell phone. "Hello?"

"Brooke?"

"Nathan?"

"I need you're help."

"I'm a little busy. Hey, weren't you just at the café?"

"Yeah, but I am calling about Haley."

"She was here too." Brooke felt confused, "Wait, you were talking to her."

"I know, this isn't about that."

"This isn't about Haley?"

"No it is."

"Okay you've lost me." Brooke looked up at Lucas, who was giving her a befuddled look. She shook her head at him. "Nathan can't this wait? Really, I am right in the middle of something."

"Yeah, fine whatever. I see how it is."

"Okay, good, I'm glad."

"Cya."

"Bye." She quickly closed her cell phone and threw it back into her purse, "Sorry." He nodded and gave her a smile.

"So a boy and a girl?" Brooke nodded and Lucas continued, "I can't... wow."

She smiled, "Who knew?"

"Definitely not me."

"Me neither." She leaned toward him, "Listen Lucas I love you more than this whole world and I am so sorry for being... a bitch, for a lack of a better word, sometimes and I don't think that we would keep on ending up together if it wasn't meant to be. I mean, if we weren't meant to be."

What Brooke was saying was like music to Lucas's ears. She watched him reach into his pocket. Brooke took a deep breath knowing what was about to happen. He looked up at her before his hand was visible. She nodded at him. She was ready. He was ready. It was really going to happen.

* * *

Peyton stood at the window watching people pass by. Seeing a familiar face made her heart lurch. She walked toward the door. Peyton felt as if she was going to be sick. It was Eliza.

"Daniel!" She yelled as she picked up Lilia and Reed and ran into the backroom. Daniel was lying on the bed, asleep. She shook him and heard a knock at the front door. "Daniel, get up. Someone is at the door."

He said in a groggy voice, "Since when are you scared to open the door?"

"Since I met Eliza."

He wrinkled his eyebrows at her.

"You idiot, Eliza is at the door. Go answer it!"

He slowly got off the bed and retreated toward the door. He turned the doorknob to see her standing there. She surprisingly looked good. Her blonde hair was a darker shade of honey and her shirt was unbelievably tight. Just the way Daniel liked them... on her. He studied her as she walked in the front door.

A nervous Peyton, carrying Lilia and Reed on her hips, stumbled into the living room. She made sure not to look at Eliza as she grabbed her keys. She headed out the front door. Daniel asked her where she was going and her reply was, "Out."

Daniel closed the door and Eliza made herself comfortable on the couch. She crossed her legs, exposing her entire thigh and showing just the tiniest bit of her boy short underwear, and let her Michael Kors sandal dangle off of her dainty foot.

He sat across from her and said, "Is that Pamela Anderson on you shirt?"

Eliza smiled, grabbed her breasts, and said, "My role model."

Daniel gave her a disgusted look, "What are you doing here Eliza?"

"Daniel, Daniel, Daniel." She got up off the couch and walked toward him. She leaned over him and whispered into his ear, "I figured the sex..." She leaned away and shook her head, "Wasn't that good." She laughed at her own comment, "I mean not that it could be," She sat on his lap, "especially after being with me."

He pushed her off, "There was a reason I lied to you."

Reaching into her purse that sat on the side table, Eliza pulled out a cigarette and put it in her mouth, "But it wasn't because of the sex."

"Get over the sex," He said pulling the cigarette out of her mouth.

She gave him a disgusted look but tried again. Running her hands over his face she said, "Come on Dan." She kissed him on the cheek, "Once more... for old time's sake."

"I am not going to have sex with you out of pity." He looked at her and then at the door. "I think you should leave Eliza, actually, I know you should leave." He got up off his chair. Handing Eliza her purse he said, "Here's your purse, here's five dollars for gas, and there's the door. I expect you on the other side of it in less than five seconds."

Eliza stormed out of the door and Daniel called out to her, "Thanks for dropping by. It sure was fun." He slammed the door and was glad that Peyton wasn't there.

* * *

**Authors Note**: So what do you think? Do you like where I am going with this story or do you hate it? Do you like that Haley is not letting Nathan back so easily after what he did to her? Are you glad that Lucas and Brooke seem to finally be happy? Tell me! I need to know! HeHe


	15. No Room For Accidents Anymore

**Author Note:** I am extremely sorry for my lack of updates on this story and my other one. School has started and I am taking a load of classes including some college classes so I rarely have time to write. So hopefully I will get to update at least once a week. Thanks for continuing to read I really appreciate it.

Chapter 15  
No Room For Accidents Anymore

It was one of those North Carolina days when the air was so thick a person felt they had to cut it with a knife to get anywhere. The awkward silence at the dinner table was strangely reminicent of the humidity outside. Peyton's voice was the knife that cut through the tension.

Her mouth was full, "So when's the wedding?"

Daniel's eyes darted back and forth between Haley and Nathan. He didn't even know Nathan, but he hated him.

Nathan, who had been staring at his shoes since arriving, looked up at Peyton. He noticed Daniel looking at him with narrowed eyes. Feeling unwanted he looked back at his shoes, studying them as if there was going to be a test.

Brooke felt like she was being tested as she answered Peyton's question. "Haven't really decided. I mean, we just got engaged."

Lucas agreed, "You and Daniel have been engaged longer than Brooke and I. Have you set a date?"

Haley whipped her head around and stared at her best friend. Under her breath, but loud enough so that Lucas could hear her, she said, "Be nice. Jesus Christ."

Daniel leaned forward onto the table, "No, but I figured we had plenty of time."

"He figured we had plenty of time," Peyton interrupted, "I wanted to pick a date..."

Through clinched teeth, Daniel said, "But I wanted to take our time..."

Feeling painfully uncomfortable, Haley said, "Okay, even though we would love to listen to you two argue over a life changing event I would rather we change the subject."

"Okay I have a subject." Nathan said, looking up from his shoes.

Haley lowered her head and sighed, "I was actually thinking someone other than you, but fine. What?"

"When are you going to stop being so stubborn and come back to your senses?" Nathan said as he leaned across the table.

Haley leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms, "Maybe when you realize that we are over."

"Come on Hales." Nathan said reaching for her hands.

She shook her head and took her napkin off her lap and sat it on the table. She scooted out from the table, "Congratualtions on the engagements guys." Haley said to them with a fake smile. She looked down at the ground, "But," now she looked back up at Nathan, "I'm not really feeling so well."

As Haley reached for her keys and headed for the door, Nathan stood up. "Haley please."

She opened the door and looked at Nathan, who was now standing directly behind her. "You seem to be saying that alot lately." Walking out of the house she went to her car.

Nathan followed after her and everyone at the table stood up and walked toward the open door. "You seem to be running away alot."

Haley opened the door and said, "You started it. You ran away from me."

As she pulled off, Nathan tried to run after her yelling, "Haley please, I still love you! Haley!"

It was hopeless. She was not going to turn around. She was not going to stop. It seemed she was never going to take him back.

Nathan dropped to his knees in the middle of the street. Peyton ran out to get him. She knelt down next to him. "I know you love her," She said putting her hand on his back, "But maybe this is the right thing to do. Maybe it is time to move on."

He looked at her with angry eyes, "Since when did you become an expert on the right thing to do, huh?" Peyton lowered her head and Nathan continued, "I saw what happened with you and Lucas, when he cheated on Brooke and I knew it was wrong. I thought if anyone could impathise with me it would be you. But I was wrong."

Peyton was so mad and aggravated with him that she didn't know whether to smack him or kiss him. She did neither. She stood up, "You knew what you did was wrong. You even told Haley that but you expect me to stand up for you? Is that what you are saying?"

Nathan rose and said, "I think what you did was much worse than what I did."

"Enlighten me please." She said crossing her arms over her chest.

"You and Lucas hurt your best friend not once but twice."

"You cheated on your wife."

Things were getting heated and things were about to be said that were never to be spoken. They were about to tell secrets about people that were never supposed to be told.

"Brooke found out on accident... OVER LUCAS' CELL PHONE!"

"Haley walked into YOUR apartment to see none other than her husband and another woman!'

From the door, Lucas and Brooke noticed a car approaching.

Nathan put his hands on his hips. "Brooke was pregnant!"

The car pulled toward the curb and the driver turned it off. A familiar figure emerged from the vehicle.

"So was Haley!" Peyton screamed.

"Uh oh." Brooke said covering her mouth.

"Oh shit." Daniel said as he put his hand atop his head.

"Haley." Lucas said as he watched her emerge from the car.

The color dripped from her face. She was speechless. There was nothing left. Haley took a deep breath to try to calm down. But it was too late, Haley collapsed to the pavement.

Nathan ran over to her and Lucas did the same. Lucas pushed him out of the way, "Nathan, move."

"She's my wife." Nathan quickly retorted.

"Yeah, well husbands don't do things like this to her wife." Lucas said as he picked up Haley. He nodded toward Brooke, "Get some ice."

"Why?" Brooke asked, jealous of Haley's attention.

"Brooke, just get the ice." Lucas said watching her rub her pregnant stomach.

She turned toward the kitchen and Daniel helped Lucas with Haley. Nathan stood at the curb. He looked into the car. In the backseat floor laid a book, "What To Expect When You Are Expecting". Nathan looked back into the house and stuffed his hands deep into the bottom of his pockets. He either felt like crying or screaming. He couldn't decide, so he did neither. He just stood there in the street, alone.

**Author Note:** What do you think? Please please please tell me. Do you like that Haley is pregnant or no? It definitely makes everything a little more confusing. Everyone tell me what you think. You all know how much I appreciate your advice!  
Em


	16. When The Lines Between Complicated and C...

**Author Note:** Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate it. To all the Brucas fans, trust me I love Brucas and there will be much more action between the two to come, but right now I am on a Haley kick so once I get all the Haley stuff sorted out, back to the Brucas, but until then more Naley and Jaley to come!  
**PS:** Sorry for the lack of reviews... trying to get college essays done and what-not so please accept my deepest apoligies!

* * *

Chapter 16  
When the Lines Between Complicated and Confused Blur

At a gas station smack dab in the middle of Tree Hill Nathan Scott, for the first time in his life, was alone. He didn't need gas. His tank was full, so he just sat there, silent, in his 2003 mustang convertible. He was weak and felt tired. "When did things get so complicated?" he asked himself as he lowered his head to the steering wheel.

Then he remembered. Things got complicated when he cheated on his wife.

When his cell phone began to ring not only was he annoyed that someone had the nerve to call him but also that it broke his silence. "What?" He barked, aggravated. He reached for his key and started the car.

As he started to back out the voice spoke. "Nathan?"

"Yeah?"

"Its me." The voice paused for a moment, "Its Eliza."

"Eliza you are seriously the last person on the face of this planet that I want to talk to and now is a really bad time."

"I am just calling to tell you that I am sorry."

"Liar. There's something that you want."

"Besides you?"

Nathan rolled his eyes and a stop sign. "Eliza, please."

"What Nathan? You don't think I am charming anymore."

"Truthfully I never thought you were charming. I just knew you were an easy bag."

"Whatever."

"So why are you calling again?"

"Just to chat."

Nathan laughed, closed the phone, and threw it over his shoulder into the backseat. Less than a minute later, the cell phone rang. Nathan leaned back trying to find the phone. Before he could find it there was honking. The honking was getting louder and louder... then the car stopped moving, because someone had hit his car on the driver's side.

Brooke was running back and forth from the kitchen to the bedroom. Lucas kept yelling at her to "bring more ice" or "bring some water" or to "hurry up". She had had enough.

"What do you think I am?" She screeched from the kitchen.

Lucas came out of the bedroom and stood in front of her, "I think that if you cared about Haley then you would help me out here."

Brooke twisted her ring around her finger and sulked for a moment before doing as Lucas had said and fill a towel with ice.

Interrupting her work, her cell phone rang. "Hello?"

"Brooke?"

"Yes. Who is this?"

"It's Deb."

"Hey Deb." Brooke said, confused.

"Listen. I didn't know who else to call."

"Sure. What's up?"

"It's Nathan."

"What's going on?"

"He was in a car accident."

Brooke gasped. "Oh my god." Her gasp turned to a whisper, "Is he okay?"

The distress in Deb's voice was now present, "No... I don't know. The doctors think he will be okay but... he was hit hard..."

Her whispering continued, "Should I tell Hal.."

"Oh no, I don't think you should. They are having so many problems now I don't want to add to the turmoil."

Brooke sighed and wondered what to say next. "Should I come down there? Or should someone I mean I don't really know what to do."

"I don't either dear. I suppose it would be best if no one came to the hospital. I am sure Nathan won't want to see anyone."

"Okay, well if you find out anything else please feel free to call."

"Will do. Thank you for listening Brooke."

"No problem. Bye."

"Bye."

Brooke was in shock. She didn't know what to do or who to tell. "Lucas!" She yelled as she stood in the kitchen with a wet towel in her hands.

"What? Brooke I need that towel..."

"Lucas, listen." He closed his mouth and Brooke whispered, "Nathan has been in a car accident."

"Is he alright?"

Brooke shrugged her shoulders and turned around.

Haley stood in the doorway with a blanket wrapped around her shoulders, "What did you say?"

* * *

_**At Karen's Cafe**_

Jake sat behind the counter at the café wishing that he was anywhere but there. Karen stood next to him and she looked down at her cards. "Go fish."

He dipped his hands into the pool of cards, "Do you have any sevens?"

Karen smiled, "Go Fish."

"Figures." His eyes moved toward the clock and his thoughts drifted away to the last time he played Go Fish a month previous... with Haley.

_Flashback_

"_Ya know we really need to find a card game that isn't so juvenile." Jake said as his eyes met hers._

"_I happen to like juvenile card games. Thank you." She said as she pulled a card from the pile of diamonds and clubs. When she looked up at him he felt like he could melt._

_His thoughts of her were broken when crying came from the playpen behind the counter, "Uh oh." Jake said as he walked toward his daughter._

"_Looks like someone isn't too happy." Haley reached into the playpen, pulling out a crying Jenny. "What's wrong Jenny babe?"_

_And then, suddenly, as if something magically happened, the cries ceased._

_Haley looked up at Jake and he said, "Wow."_

_Not only was he in awe of her parenting skills but simply in awe of her. Everything about her made Jake wish that he would be the one to wake up next to her, not the completely-unworthy Nathan._

_Haley shrugged her shoulders and with an almost upset face said, "I need all the practice I can get."_

_Confused, Jake said, "I'm not so sure I follow."_

"_You wouldn't be the only one. No one knows, well other than Peyton..." Haley pointed at him, "And she found out on accident. Trust me. I wasn't going to tell anyone."_

"_Tell anyone..."_

_Haley whispered, "I'm pregnant."_

_Jake's mouth dropped open, "Wow. How... I mean... who? Wow."_

_Letting out a small giggle Haley started answering questions. "Well Jake, you know how baby's happen which answers the how question."_

"_You know what I mean."_

_Haley rocked Jenny back and forth, finally laying her back in the play pen. "When Nathan and I were together, we were happy and we knew that we eventually wanted to have kids..."_

"_Eventually though."_

"_That's exactly where the problems begin."_

"_I found out I was pregnant three weeks after I found Nathan cheating on me with Eliza. I didn't know what to do." She looked down. "Am I a bad person for not telling him?"_

_Jake put his hand on her shoulder and chills went down his spine, "You've got to do what you've got to do, Hales and Nathan was an asshole to you. You and your child deserve so much better."_

"_But the thing is that it's his child too."_

_Jake cringed. He was the one who was supposed to having a child with Haley, not Nathan. _

_Haley moved toward him and wrapped her arms around his neck. _

_Jake looked at the clock on the far wall. Four thirty seven on a Wednesday evening, Jake fell in love... with Haley._

End Flashback

Author Note: What do you think? Hate that Eliza might be making another entrance? Love Jake and Haley possibility? And please be honest? I love you all!


	17. Sucked In To Giving A Damn

Chapter 17  
Sucked In To Giving a Damn

Haley closed her eyes and counted to sixty, again. For the twelfth time... make that thirteenth time, Haley counted to sixty. The doctors had said one more minute. The doctors had said she would get to see him in one more minute. Now here she was, thirteen "one more minutes" later and she still hadn't seen him. She still didn't know if her husband, actually estranged husband was going to live to see their first child born.

Hours earlier she was almost positive she would be okay if Nathan just fell off the face of the planet and never tried to see her again. How quickly things change. Haley still hated him for what he had done. If he loved her like he said he did, he would have been faithful, but things were now on her shoulders. If she loved him like she said she did, she would sit in the waiting room praying that he would be okay.

If only this had happened months ago, then she would have wanted him to be in perfect condition. She would have wanted him to walk out of the hospital without a single scratch or bruise.

Now she didn't know what she wanted.

In the front of her mind, she was thinking, "Karma's a bitch. He deserved this. He screwed me over. He cheated on me with that skank Eliza and now here I am five months pregnant, living with my parents again, hoping and praying that I can find someone who I loved as much as I loved him..."

She knew she may never love again... and that scared her.

That scared her more than the dark, more than spiders, and more that Peyton's driving. Being alone and never being in love scared her.

She looked down at the ground and closed her eyes again, hoping that when she opened them again this would all be over.

In her mind she thought of her baby, their baby, this new being living inside her, feeding off of everything she did. She didn't want the baby to know how upset she was. Haley put her hands atop her stomach and slowly looked up.

Her eyes opened and Lucas stood infront of her. The look on his face made her want to scream and so she did.

"What!" She yelled at the top of her lungs as she stood up and threw herself at Lucas.

Luckily, Lucas was prepared for this and immediately put his arms out to catch her. "Hales." He whispered.

Everything was setting in. Haley was too tired to look up. She didn't want to know what was about to be said. She knew what lucas had to say would not be good. He would tell her that Nathan was in a coma or Nathan was dead or something even worse. Then he said it, the something worse.

"He wants to see you, Hales. He's asking for you." Lucas said as he ran his hand over Haley's hair.

Haley looked up at him. Her big brown eyes pleaded with him, "No Luke. Really I can't go in there." She put her head on his shoulder and whispered, "I can't."

"You have to." He whispered back. She shook her head and Lucas put his hands on her shoulders. "Hales," He whispered, "I don't know how much you know about what happened but... Nathan, is not doing so well. He..."

"Stop talking to me like I am an idiot Lucas and just tell me if he is going to be okay or not. Because if he is then I am going to either sit out her and bitch about how Nathan always did things on his own time or I am going to go home and twiddle my thumbs and moan about how messy my room is. But if he isn't going to be okay, then I am going to go in there, sit with him, and..." Tears started to swell up in the corners of her eyes. She quickly wiped them away. Her voice became strained, "and... tell him how much I will miss him and loved him and how I wish that I had told him about the baby..."

"Shh." Lucas said, putting his index finger over Haley's mouth.

"Just tell me the truth, Luke." She whispered to him.

Lucas shook his head, "Not good, Hales. It's not looking good so, um, if I were you I would go in there and do what I had to do."

She lowered her head and walked toward the nurse, "Can you take me to Nathan Scott's room please?"

In a low, sweet voice the nurse said, "And you are... his sister?"

Haley sighed, put her hands on her slight stomach and said, "I'm his wife."

The nurse nodded and led Haley to the room.

The walls were blue and cold and unlike most hotel rooms this one was empty. No flowers, no nothing. Haley took a deep breath and tried to speak. Nothing came out. Her hands remained on her stomach as she walked closed toward the bed.

She watched his eyes flutter a little. She knew he must be dozing off and desprately wanted to leave, knowing how Nathan acted when being awoken from a nap. As she tried to tip toe out of the room she kicked the edge of the bed. She whipped around and saw Nathan move. "Damn." She muttered.

He groaned a little until he realized the person in the room was his former wife. "Haley." He said. He looked terrible. His face was covered in cuts still red from the blood that must have poured from the wounds. Nathan must have knew what she was thinking, "You should see the car. Lucas said it was pretty bad."

All Haley could do was nod. The words that usually flowed with no end just wouldn't stream... at all.

The silence in the room was unbearable.

Nathan sturred a little and said, "So I was thinking... about names."

Haley nodded again and remained standing at the edge of the bed.

"You can sit down you know." Nathan said, pointing to the chair next to his bed.

"I'm fine. I would rather stand."

"That way you are in the perfect leaving position, right?"

"Don't even talk to me about leaving Nathan."

"That's not what I meant Haley."

"Then what did you mean."

"I just meant if you sat down it would take you longer to leave. Never mind, just for get I said anything."

Again, she nodded and said nothing.

"But I was thinking about names..." He started to say.

"I already have a name." She said. The words were ice cold and cut through Nathan's heart.

"Oh."

"Jaden." She said. Haley looked down at her watch. "Oh, um, I have to work in a..."

"So it's a boy?" Nathan asked, trying to sit up in the bed.

Haley bit her lip and said nothing.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"To be blunt," She looked up at him, "I didn't want to." His ice blue eyes pierced her heart. She prayed Jaden didn't have those eyes.

"Listen, Haley, I know what I did was wrong..."

"Wow, am I supposed to award you for that? I sat around wondering what I did wrong to make you do what you did. If I said something I shouldn't have or if I didn't do something you asked me. Where did I go wrong?"

"God! Will you just listen to me for one second. I am sorry haley. I am sorry for what I put you through, I am. But if you haven't noticed," Nathan pointed to the equiptment around him, "these machines are the only things keeping me breathing right now. So, you can forgive me now or you can hold a grudge, not forgive me, and have that weight to carry around with you for the rest of you life." He sighed and ran his hands over the sheet covering his body. "No matter what happens, I love you Haley."

"This always happens Nathan, I tell myself that I am going to change and that for once in my life I am going to be strong and do what is right."

"How do you know this is wrong?"

"I don't, I guess. But seriously Nathan, you hurt me. You will never understand how I felt."

"I know and I wish I could."

Haley lowered her head and heard the door open. She turned around.

The nurse stood in the doorway. "Mr. Scott, Mrs. Scott, I'm so sorry but Nathan has really got to get some rest. Doctor's orders."

Haley stood up and put her hand on the door knob.

Nathan said, "Just remember what I told you."

Haley didn't look back. She just walked out of the room.

Brooke, Lucas, Peyton, and Daniel along with Reed and Lilia sat in the waiting room anxiously awaiting Haley's return. Brooke looked as if she was about to burst and the fact that she still had three months left to go Haley could only imagine the size she would be by her due date. Peyton held Reed's hand and Daniel's hand rested on Peyton's shoulder.

Lucas was the only one to speak, "So?"

Haley kept her head down, "I don't exactly want to talk about it." She said to him as she shuffled through her purse for her car keys and her cell phone. Her cell phone reached her hand and the first thing she did, even before she reached the exit, was dial that familiar number. Jake's.


	18. On A Day Like Today

Chapter 18  
On A Day Like Today

It was the first day of summer and you could tell by the thickness of the air, the children running down the streets playing in sprinklers and by the yelling coming from the living room. The two pregnant women were uncomfortable. The air conditioning wouldn't get cold enough for them even though the thermostat was at a freezing fifty-six degrees. Peyton was taking care of then while Lucas was at the body shop.

She leaned her head against the warm window and sighed. Daniel was out of town this weekend and Reed was staying with his mother, Eliza. That made Peyton nervous. She knew she shouldn't be because Eliza was Reed's mother and she wouldn't do anything to hurt him. Would she? "No she wouldn't." Peyton thought to herself, "She isn't a monster. She is just a slut."

Peyton stared out the window watching children run through the yard of Karen Roe's house. Their sprinklers were on and the kids were using them to their advantage. Peyton smiled. She missed Reed.

"Peyton!" Brooke screeched from the living room. Her swollen feet were propped up on the couch; a pillow was behind her back, and a glass of ice cold lemonade was squeezed tightly into her hands. She wiped her forehead and put her hands below her protruding stomach.

Haley turned her head toward Brooke who was sighing as loudly as she could. Haley took a deep breath and screamed, "Peyton!"

Peyton squeezed her eyes shut. She tried to block out Brooke's demands. "Get me a bologna sandwich with mustard, a banana, three saltine crackers, and... uh... damn, I though there was something else. Oh, yeah. Some peanut butter mixed with honey on a spoon."

Peyton stood up and walked over to Brooke. She stared at her, "You're kidding right."

Brooke put her hands on her hips and stared at Peyton. She pointed to the area where she had been housing twins for seven months. As she narrowed her eyes she said, "Look at me. Do I look like the kind of person who would be kidding about foods right now? Hmm?"

Peyton rolled her eyes and turned to Haley, "Haley, you want anything?"

Haley shook her head, "No thanks. I'm fine." She put something on her face that resembled a smile and Peyton left the room.

"Hey," Brooke said as she tried to shift her body toward Haley, "What's going on? You have been really quiet today and that is so not like you. What's up?"

"Nothing important, just thinking." Haley said. Her eyes remained fixed on the ceiling fan that spun rapidly. Seventy-eight rotations a minute, Haley counted.

Brooke nodded and stared at the doorway anxiously awaiting the arrival of the food she had been craving for nearly twenty minutes. She ran her fingers through her long brown hair and put them folded over her chest.

Haley put her hands atop her stomach and rubbed it slowly. She began humming. Brooke slowly turned her head trying not to let Haley see her. Haley squeezed her eyes shut and the tune quickly turned into words that flowed out of her mouth as if she had previously written the song she was singing.

"...So when I close my eyes and when I see your face, I'll know that you're the one for me. When the cold night turns to gray and the stars slowly fade away I know I'll miss the way we used to love. So don't go away but don't let me stay here now..." Haley's voice crackled as she felt a tear roll down her face. "... I'm hurting too much for you to know..." She sighed. "Tonight I cried and tomorrow'll be the same. I'll miss you just as much as I have every other day. Now there's someone else that I have to love too. I can only hope he'll love you just the same as I did every single day..."

Brooke swallowed hard and quickly wiped her face. Maybe it was the pregnancy emotions or the fact that what Haley was saying made Brooke realize how lucky she was, what ever it was... Tudor Girl made Brooke cry.

She glanced over at Haley, "That was really beautiful Haley."

Haley gave her a half smile, "Peyton! Will you bring me the phone?"

Peyton came into the room. Her arms were full of food. She handed the phone to Haley, "Whats goin' on?"

"I was just thinking," Haley said, "My horoscope this morning said 'You can't put this phone call off any longer. It won't be as bad as you think.' So that's what I've got to do." She stood up and walked to the front porch. Her fingers moved across the phone to number that she had come to know so well over the past few months.

He answered the phone after a single ring. She had almost hoped he wouldn't answer at all that way she could continue to put this off. This being telling him how she truly felt.

"Jake?" She said, her voice wavering a little.

"Hey Haley, what are you doing?"

Haley could hear Jenny rambling in the background, "I just... I just wanted to call and tell you something."

"This doesn't sound good. Am I going to want to hear this over the phone?"

"It shouldn't matter. You just need to hear me out."

"Okay, I am sitting. I think I am ready."

"Okay..."

"No, wait. Am I ready?"

"I hope so because here goes nothing." She paused for a moment. She could hear Jake's breathing. The other night, as he head rested on his chest, that he had an extremely slow heart rate. Forty-three beats per minute. She was sure it would be faster now. "Do you remember that day that I was sitting at the dock and you came and talked to me? You asked me if the glass was half full or half empty. Before then it was empty, but after spending all this time with you my glass is full again." She took a deep breath, "I don't know what made me realize this but, Jake you are the kindest most gentle man I have ever encountered in my life and knowing that there are guys like you out there makes me hope that every girl who ever dreamed for their prince charming will find someone like you."

"But..." He interrupted. He knew this was too good too be true. There had to be a but. There always was a but.

"Jake Jagielski... I... I want you to be the reason my glass is always full, I want you to be the one who gives me all their eights in a rousing game of go fish; I want you to be the one who... who tells me that everything will always be okay and as childish and naïve as this my sound... I want you to be the one for me." She felt herself start to cry again, "I want to love you... I do love you."

Jake was speechless. No words could be processed. The strong silent type, Jake Jagielski was not strong anymore. He was only silent.

"Jake?"

"Haley?"

"I hope I didn't say anything I shouldn't have I just wanted..."

"No. No. It is nothing... I just, I don't know what to say. I am blown away. Haley, I remember the moment that I decided that I loved you. You had just told me about your being pregnant and I was shocked and upset and all these emotion were flowing around and you threw your arms around my neck. You smelled like honeysuckles and vanilla and I was just in awe. You were glowing and I knew that I loved you, all of you. Even the baby that I didn't... don't even know. I loved it because it is a part of you..."

"Where do we go from here?" Haley asked him as she rubbed her stomach.

"Well, you can come..." Jake was interrupted. Peyton came running outside.

"Haley! It's Brooke." She said, exasperated.

"What? Peyton, calm down. What is going on?" Haley asked, trying to remain calm."

"Brooke, she... she is having these contractions. I don't know what to do. I called Lucas on your cell phone and he said something about her water breaking this morning or something... I don't know what to do Haley. Help me." Peyton's voice was shaking as was her entire body.

"Jake, I have got to go. Brooke is in labor." She said.

"I'll be right there." Jake said.

Haley waddled into the living room to see Brooke still lying on the couch. Her upper lip was dripping with sweat and her gray shirt was black in places from the perspiration. "Brooke," Haley said as she ran her hand over Brooke's head, "Jake is going to be here any minute and then we will get you to the hospital."

Brooke shook her head, "Haley, it is too soon. The babies. It is too soon for them."

Haley continued running her hand over Brooke's dark hair, "They will be okay, honey. They babies will be fine." Haley winked at her.

The front door swung open and Lucas came rushing in. "B I'm here. Can you walk to the car?" He quickly answered his question, "No, I'll carry you."

He looked at Peyton, "Go get a bag for Brooke. Fill it up with things she might need." He turned to Haley, "Hales, wait here. Get someone to pick you up and go by mom's house and get Lilia."

Peyton ran up the stairs and Haley nodded. "Jake is on his way."

Lucas carried Brooke to the car and laid her down in the backseat. He kissed her on the forehead. "You'll be okay baby. We have done this before. You are a pro."

She looked up at him, her eyes twinkling, "I'm glad you're here this time Luke."

He jumped into the driver's seat, started the car and looked back at her, "I wouldn't miss it again for the world."


	19. All We Ever Find

Chapter 19  
All We Ever Find

Haley looked around the waiting occasionally glancing at Peyton or the man across the room. He had dark brown hair and his glasses slid down his nose so he would casually push them back up. She watched him tap his foot. The doctor walked toward him and his eyes lit up. A smile crossed his face and he made eye contact with Haley. She smiled back and pushed her hair behind her ear.

"It's a boy. Eight pounds, three ounces." He said. Haley watched him jump up and run into the operating room that his wife and new son were in.

"Congratulations!" Haley called after him. He turned around; the smile had not vanished from his face.

Haley longed so desperately for that, for a husband who had a smile you couldn't wipe off. She had Nathan. A husband who was never there, a husband she wouldn't let back in.

A sharp pain shot through Haley's abdomen. "Oh." She said, clutching at her side. She ran her fingers through her hair, but before her hand reached her side another pain his. "Ow."

Jake glanced over at her, "Hales? You okay?"

She took a deep breath, "Fine." She nodded her head and glanced over at him. She smiled, "This just happens sometimes." He looked worried. "Really I'm fine." She reassured him.

A hot burst of wind rushed through the room. Haley's forehead started to bead up a little and her stomach tied up in knots. She shook her head and lowered it into her hands. Peyton ran her hands over Haley's head as her eyes danced around the room searching for a familiar face; a familiar face that just might take her mind away from her fiancé.

The heat continued to flow through the hospital until Haley finally looked up. Her eyes met with her familiar face. He stood nearly six feet two inches and had the blue eyes that made her heart lurch. She tried to move her eyes away from his. She didn't want to feel this. She didn't want to see him. She didn't want him.

"What are you doing here?" She asked his as her eyes remained on the floor.

Jake stood up as Nathan walked toward Haley, "Dude, I think that maybe you should…"

"I think that maybe you should stay out of this. This is between me and my wife Jagielski."

"Nathan, stop." Haley said, putting her hands on the chair and trying to stand up. She stumbled a little but continued walking toward Nathan.

A nurse emerged from a room down the hall. Haley's vision became blurred and she called out to Peyton, "Peyton… help me…"

Peyton jumped out of her chair and ran toward Haley.

Haley couldn't stand any longer and started to fall.

Nathan put his arms out. His love for her still evident as he ran her toward the nurse, "My wife… she needs help…"

The nurse put her fingers to Haley's neck, "Okay sir how far along is she?"

Nathan counted on his fingers.

"Six months… yesterday." Jake interrupted as he followed right behind the nurse.

"And who are you?" The nurse, named Beatrice by the tag on her smock, asked.

"I'm…" He looked up at Nathan and then down at Haley, "I'm her boyfriend."

Beatrice pointed to Nathan, "And you're the husband?"

Nathan nodded.

She looked back at Jake, "And you're the boyfriend?"

Jake nodded and looked at Nathan, "Not his boyfriend… her boyfriend." He said quickly, "But her," He pointed to Haley, "She needs help and it doesn't really matter who we are…"

"Okay, boyfriend calm down. We will get her in a room and checked out."

Haley's eyes fluttered a bit and she slowly opened them. She looked up at Nathan, "What's going on?"

"We are going to get you into a room Hales to see what is going on, okay?" Nathan said as he ran his hand over her head.

She nodded slowly and looked over at Jake, "How is Brooke? Is she okay?"

Jake shrugged his shoulders, "We don't know. No one has heard."

"Will you go check for me?" She whispered to him.

He winked at her and whispered back, "For you… anything." He kissed her on the forehead and walked back toward the lobby.

Nathan looked down at Haley. "He really loves you." He paused, nervous about what he was about to say. He didn't know whether to hold the words back or just let them flow. "Hales, I know I have made some mistakes and I will regret them forever. Hurting you was the last thing I ever wanted to do…" He looked behind him, toward the direction that Jake went, "and now I know I really screwed up and someone else loves you just as much as I always did."

She quickly glanced up at him and then back down at her feet, "I don't know what I am supposed to do Nathan."

"About what?" He asked as he followed the nurse toward a wheelchair.

"Everything." She took the nurse's hand which led her to the chair. She shook her head and lowered her eyes to her new balance tennis shoes. "I never expected things to get so complicated. I never in the slightest bit wanted things to be complicated. I was the girl who always wanted everything to run smoothly. The girl who had her papers in order, her clothes color coordinated, and everything scheduled." She looked up at him as Beatrice pushed her into a room, "Now look at me." 

"Haley, everything happens for a reason and I am sure that everything will work out."

"How can you say that and mean it?" She asked him.

He helped her onto the bed and then sat on the edge of the bed, waiting for a doctor. Nathan shrugged his shoulder, "I don't know… I guess, I really don't know. I guess I just figure things will eventually start going my way."

She tried to manage a smile. Her eyes slowly moved to the door where a doctor stood. He ran his fingers through his salt and pepper hair. He put his hand out to hers. "Haley Scott, I'm Doctor Carlson. I heard you were having some problems out there. How far along are you?"

"A little over six months." She said, slowly sitting up. She grabbed her side. "Oh."

"Okay, well… um, let's get you checked out shall we?" Haley nodded and Dr. Carlson put his hand out to Nathan, "You are?"

"Her husband." He said, sitting a little taller than he had been before.

For the first time in months Haley didn't cringe at the sound of him saying that.

She glanced at him and then back at the doctor.

"Well it is always good to have the partner here in times like this." He smiled at Haley and Nathan. Dr. Carlson handed Haley a robe, "Okay Haley well we are going to get you ready. Please put this on for me and then we will check everything out, okay?"

Haley stared at him nervously. "Not to be rude, but I have a doctor… Dr. Green…"

"Haley, Its okay I promise. This is just going to be a little check up. I am sure everything is fine."

She nodded and watched him leave the room.

-----------------()()()()()()-------------  
Jake sat in the lobby with Peyton. Peyton looked over at him, "So what's up with you and Haley?"

His head whipped toward her, "Uh… I… uh, don't really know."

"Oh." Peyton said her eyes getting wide.

"It's complicated."

"It tends to be when there is a husband and a baby involved."

"I know about the baby complication."

"I do too." Peyton said, leaning forward, her elbows on her knees.

Lucas suddenly appeared in the hallway. Peyton and Jake sat up. A smile crept across his face.

"I take that as a sign that everything is going well?" Peyton asked as she stood up and walked toward Lucas.

Lucas nodded and Jake followed Peyton. "Really well."

"So?" Jake asked.

"Twins. One boy, one girl. Aiden Ryan and Morgan Paige."

Peyton wrapped her arms around Lucas neck. "Congratulations Luke."

"Yeah, congrats man." Jake said, patting him on the arm.

Lucas looked around the waiting room, "Where's Haley?"

"Oh, she was having some stomach problems so she went off with a nurse." Peyton said.

"I need to go find her." Jake said as he walked down the hallway.

"I do too." Lucas said following after Jake.

Beatrice was standing outside a room with a pen in her hand, "Do you know where Haley James is?"

"Haley Scott is in this room. Is that the same person?" Beatrice asked, with a southern twang.

"Yes that's the same person." Lucas said. "Is she okay?" He asked crossing his arms over his chest.

As if on cue, Nathan emerged from the room. He looked at Lucas and then at Jake. "Haley is almost seven centimeters dilated. She is going into labor."

Lucas and Jake looked at each other and then peeked into the room. Haley was squeezing the handlebars of the bed. She looked at the door, "Nathan!" She screamed, "You got me in this situation now you get in here right now!"

Nathan looked back at Beatrice, Jake, and Lucas and said, "Sorry guys... duty calls."

He walked back into the room and ran his hands over Haley's sweating forehead. "It's okay sweetie." He kissed her hand, "You'll be fine."

For a moment her squeezing ceased and she looked into his ice blue eyes, "I am really glad you are here for this."

He looked down at her, "I wouldn't miss it for the world."


End file.
